Inspirational Wirral policeman prepares to hang up his hat after 30 years in the force (From Wirral Globe)

Inspirational Wirral policeman prepares to hang up his hat after 30 years in the force

10:59am Tuesday 22nd December 2009 in News By Craig Manning

Sgt Mark Whale

A POLICEMAN from Wirral who became a disabled persons' champion after losing a leg to an aggressive form of cancer will hang up his helmet in the New Year.

Sgt Mark Whale, who is based at Bromborough Police Station, has completed 30 years of service with the Force.

During that time, he has been honoured with many awards and accolades and was chosen to represent Merseyside Police to meet the Queen for the Golden Jubilee celebrations.

The 55-year-old dad-of-three, from Southport, had a baptism of fire with the Toxteth riots when he began his career walking the beat in south Liverpool.

He moved into the CID to progress through the ranks after working in the Bridewell custody suites and on patrol dealing with major events such as the miners' disputes.

He transferred into neighbourhood patrol in Bromborough in 1994. Four years later he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma - an aggressive form of cancer.

He said: "I was on patrol one evening in February 1998 by the Ritzy nightclub, which used to have a lot of disorder.

"An incident broke out and as I went to deal with it I tripped over a cable and twisted my ankle.

"Despite the pain I dealt with the incident and the next day I went to the doctor to have my ankle checked out and I had an x-ray which revealed a shadow on my lower tibia.

"If that hadn't have happened the cancer wouldn't have come to light and it wouldn't have taken long to get into my bloodstream, which would have been fatal."

Sgt Whale made the life-saving decision to have his lower leg amputated and underwent chemotherapy before receiving an NHS prosthetic limb, which was upgraded to a dynamic carbon fibre prosthetic by the North West Police benevolent fund.

Refusing to take a desk job, he returned to Bromborough Neighbourhood policing team nine months after he was diagnosed with cancer and soon after began counselling others facing amputation.

He said: "Coming back to work was what I wanted. I had to re-train in everything again from self-defence to driving police response cars. I set myself targets and that helped me to get on with it.

"I wanted to prove to myself that I was as capable of doing my job as my colleagues.

"It was a lot of effort but it was worth it because I wanted to stay in a job I loved.

"Hopefully I am an example of what can be done with determination and this can encourage other people in a similar situation to take action against what is otherwise a fatal cancer."

Sgt Whale received the Tom Wright award, presented to officers who have fought serious illness, for his exceptional commitment and loyalty to Merseyside Police in 2002.

Later that year he received the Wirral Challenge Award from the Wirral Association for Disability for outstanding and inspirational personal and professional achievement.

Reflecting on his 30 years in the force, Sgt Whale, a former general manager for Tesco and analytical chemist for pharmaceutical giant Glaxo, said: "I will really miss the basic bobbying - I like being out on the streets meeting people - and will miss my colleagues.

"It will be quite a shock when I actually go. It has been my life for the last 30 years and I have absolutely loved working for Merseyside Police.

"I am now looking forward to doing some gardening - I've been on a shortlist for an allotment for the last 10 years which is about to materialise early next year.

"I'm also looking forward to going scuba diving, fishing and swimming but before I do any of this I'm going to book a holiday!"