I was born in Batley, Yorkshire, in 1966. I grew up in Yorkshire and in Malawi, Central Africa.

I studied law at Huddersfield Polytechnic, and then did my Solicitors Final Exams at the College of Law in London. I later completed a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice Studies at Leicester University in 1998.

By profession I am a solicitor, working for a Nottingham based firm, although my work takes me across the Midlands and Yorkshire. I have also done a lot of freelance lecturing and have personally trained about 10% of solicitors in practice in England and Wales.

I was first elected to Broxtowe Council in 1999 to represent the Stapleford North ward. Following boundary changes in 2003 I was re-elected for the Bramcote Ward, and became the chair of the Development Control committee. I was then re-elected in 2007 for Bramcote. I continued as chair of the Development Control committee until 2010 when I took over as leader of the council. In 2011 I was re-elected to represent Bramcote, but stood down as leader. Unfortunately in 2015 I lost my seat by 6 votes. but along with my colleagues Hannah Land and Ian Tyler we regained the seats in 2019 with a majority of over 400.

Away from work I am a keen musician, playing the guitar and piano. I am a fan of most sports, especially football and motor racing, and during 2003 I qualified for my scuba divers licence. More recently I’ve taken up astronomy as a hobby and I am also a keen photographer.

I’m married to Gill and we live with our two daughters, and a house full of animals in Bramcote.