I slept on the streets as a teenager...now I'm a chief fire officer with a PhD

Sabrina Cohen-Hatton survived two years living rough thanks to a stray called Menace. Today she's advising the Prince of Wales while raising funds for a remarkable charity that helps the homeless care for their dogs

- Jane Warren

WITH her ongoing career as a professor at Cardiff University, a PhD and her immaculate personal grooming, Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, 41, is far from the traditional image of a fire-fighter.

As Chief Fire Officer for West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service - the highest rank a firefighter in the UK can achieve she's one of the UK's most senior female members of the service.

She also advises Prince William on his campaign to end homelessness for Sabrina is an unusual senior member of the fire service for another, quite remarkable, reason.

For two years as a teenager, she was a homeless rough-sleeper on the streets of South Wales. She credits her survival during that turbulent period to her relationship with a remarkable stray dog she affectionately named Menace, who befriended her after the death of her father when she was nine.

"My mother struggled terribly with mental health issues, and after my father died she really struggled to cope," she tells me. "We lived in abject poverty for several years as a result and by the time I was 15, we were in a really volatile situation.

"My mum loved me dearly, but she didn't have the capacity to be able to look after me properly. I was terrified of going into care, so I hid what was going on from school, and started to sleep rough."

Her experiences pre-date the Children Act 2004 which puts a duty on public bodies to share information about at-risk children. "I left school the following year, aged 16, with no qualifications," continues Sabrina. "I was completely emotionally isolated and there was no-one around to help me.

"I can't tell you the number of times people boot you in your sleeping bag or had their sleeping bags set on fire. Having Menace with me saved my life for sure; he really was an early warning system."