An award-winning former police officer has written about his time coming to the UK and later meeting his partner in a ‘cross-cultural love story’.

Mahmood 'Mebs' Ahmed, 65, was a Lancashire police officer for 25 years and has recently published ‘PC Mebs – Finding Myself’.

Mebs came to the UK in 1965 as a nine-year-old and admits that he was considered a failure at school and said he drifted into several different jobs.

He worked on the buses and then as a traffic warden. He was later to find his true vocation as a police officer and joined Lancashire Constabulary in 1989. 

In 1999, following employment targets set by the then Home Secretary, Jack Straw, Mebs led the constabulary's work on workforce representation. In 2003 he was elected as chair of the Lancashire Black Police Association, a role he carried out until he retired.

He describes his book as ‘a journey of self-discovery - both romantic and hard hitting’ as it shares many aspects of life for the first generation Asian migrants arriving in the UK.

He met his partner Marjorie Alice Hocking in 1986, a union he says which succeeded despite their differing cultural and social backgrounds.

In the book Mebs shares stories which he describes as ‘hilarious, illuminating, informative, inspirational, sad and happy.’

He says he was inspired into writing by the wonderful people he had met while growing up.

He said: “There were some very special people who in their own unique way helped to shape me as a person - my parents, my children, the special woman in my life - and all the people who came into my life and enriched it.

 “The book tackles life for an unassuming young boy and his extended family living in a rural village in Pakistan. It also looks at the many challenges my father faced and how I, along with my mother, came to join him.

“It shares my early memories of England, school, coming to terms with the Pakistani and English cultures. I had a timid and incredibly shy personality and a fear of making mistakes and of people, which crippled my ability to learn or develop many social skills.

“I struggled to make friends and found my escapism through daydreaming and football.”

Lancashire Telegraph:

Mebs received a long service award in 2011 at Lancashire Constabulary

The book details how Mebs overcomes all his fear and anxieties, dealing with many challenges within the police service including racism, going on to become 'a voice for those who were unable to speak for themselves and influence at the highest levels within the police service'.

Mebs began working in Blackburn in the late seventies and met Marjorie while on the buses.

He said: “My personality inhibited my job prospects and I accepted many mundane jobs.

“I settled down into an arranged marriage - until a chance meeting that changed my life forever.

“I eventually found my true vocation as a police officer and developed into the sort of person I had always hoped I would be.”

‘PC Mebs – Finding Myself’ is available in print and eBook formats by clicking here