HE IS the Irish dancer who has performed on stages across the UK.

But now, one Hampshire man has taken up a new career path saving lives in Hampshire.

Owen Jones, 28, has graduated as a firefighter and will be working at Hightown Station in Southampton.

Previously, Owen was an Irish dancer who toured with Lord of the Dance with Michael Flatley.

Lord of the Dance is an Irish musical that was created, produced and choreographed by Michael Flatley.

Owen said he has always had an interest in joining the service and applied for recruitment in 2017 but did not get in.

The graduate said that he did not let the rejection "get him down" and reapplied.

Owen went through a sixteen week training course with other

Owen said: "I applied again and can now proudly say I am a firefighter at Hightown Fire Station.

"The training course which lasted sixteen-weeks was immensely challenging, but it had a very similar family ethic to my dance group which helped me get through those tougher times.

"On tour, we would work, sleep, and eat together.

"Being part of a watch now replicates those feelings of belonging and the importance to being a team, which was one of the things that appealed to me most about becoming a firefighter and encouraged me to join."

The 28-year-old claims that although training was tough, his background in dancing helped with fitness.

“Being a professional dancer did help me to become a firefighter," he said.

"Dancing is very physically demanding and that proved to be an advantage to me whilst completing the fitness training for the course.

“I really enjoyed the mix of people on the course as well; there was a helicopter pilot, a primary school teacher, one woman was a former England football goalie.

"I already knew earlier in the year about the drive to encourage more women to consider a career in the fire service and it was great to see nearly as many females on the course as males.”