EXPLOITS BACKED UP BY CAREER IN POLICE

Financially it is not feasible to be a professional bowler in the UK – but there are opportunities in Australia and, increasingly, in Malaysia.

However, Darren Burnett wanted to stay local, so took on a full-time job as a policeman at the age of 17, soon after leaving Arbroath High School.

For the first 18 years he was a community officer in Dundee, before taking on a similar post in Arbroath where he still works.

“The priority was to get a secure job because without that, would my head be into playing bowls at a level when I am concentrating on other things?” Darren said.

“It both came together back then and it wasn’t an option to play full-time in the UK – it would have probably been to go to Australia.

“I wanted a job where there wouldn’t be the same day twice and the police gave me that option.

“I felt it was good for communication skills.

“If I could go in front of a camera and speak to the TV cameras about bowls, then surely I could have a conversation one on one on the street or at a police station.

“I have had the best of both. I have been able to compete around the world but also hold down a career that will hopefully set me up in my later years.

“My brother has done it the other way.

“He went out to Australia to play bowls from a young age.”

Being a community officer also brings the father-of-two into some grim situations.

“We deal with death, unfortunately, quite regularly,” said Darren, who has been married to Linsey, 41, for 15 years.

Their two daughters are Isla, 13, and Evie, 11.

“That could be from the scene of a road traffic accident, to drugs. It could be people just dying.

“Some things, when you have your own kids, are tough to deal with.

“You see some stuff at work and you start to think about things.

“There is a lot of trauma in the job but you are trained to try to deal with that the best you can,” he said.

“And the police, like most places now, have a lot of support services in place because we are asked to deal with a lot.”