A FORMER Warrington police officer has celebrated his first novel being published aged 75.

Chris Emmett, who currently lives in North Yorkshire, moved to Orford in 1963 after his father retired from the Army.

Two years later, Chris joined the Warrington Police where he served as an officer for five years.

“My parents were keen on me doing engineering, but it was the idea of doing something that was going to be an interesting career that made me want to do it - and it was,” he said.

“There was always a new challenge, every day there was something new and I loved it.”

In 1970, Chris fulfilled a lifelong dream and joined the Hong Kong Police service, moving more than 6,000 miles away.

After retiring and moving back to the UK, Chris managed to achieve another dream and published his first novel aged 75.

Chris started working with his publisher, Graham Earnshaw of Earnshaw Books, when he sent over a copy of his autobiography.

Earnshaw Books, which is the largest independent English-language publisher in East Asia, published non-fiction books at the time but began to expand into fiction novels – which is when Chris sent over his book, The Scholar’s Blade.

“It’s a lifetime ambition,” said Chris.

“I had two ambitions; one was to be a Hong Kong police man and the other was to be a published author and now at the age of 75 I have both.”

The Scholar’s Blade is set in 1860, during China’s Taiping Rebellion, which lasted 14 years and claimed at least 20 million lives.

Although he lived in Hong Kong for more than 20 years, Chris had to complete several rewrites of his book before it was published to make sure it was historically accurate.

“I’m pretty keen on getting the details right because it’s not well known in Europe, but it was history’s bloodiest civil war,” said Chris.

“In Asia, particularly among the Chinese, it’s something that was pivotal in Chinese history, so it was absolutely vital to get it right.”

The Scholar’s Blade follows three characters whose destinies collide during for the fortress town on Sungkiang.

The book is available for purchase online in the UK and the sequel is due to be published by the end of the year.