A female bodyguard who has been shot, assisted hostage rescues and protected celebrities has taken a job guarding the wetlands.

Jacquie Davis, who was the UK's first female bodyguard in the 1980s, will now be responsible for Walthamstow Wetlands.

The 59-year-old's life has inspired a new Netflix film called Close, starring Hollywood actress Noomi Rapace.

She patrols the site every day to ensure nobody enters reservoirs or commits anti-social behaviour/

She said: “I’ve loved my job, I’ve protected hundreds and hundreds of clients. I’ve been in some pretty hairy situations but you can’t be scared.

“Afterwards it’s like how did I get into that. But during it you have to keep calm, keep aware of all the circumstances.

“I’ve been shot at several times, stabbed twice, I’ve protected foreign royal families, powerful businessmen and women and celebrities. In the past 10 years, the popularity of close protection and surveillance has really increased, which means we’re always busy.”

Being the first female bodyguard, she faced a lot of sexism early on in her career – often tasked to look after women or ordered to hold babies and children.

She said her favourite jobs have been rescuing kidnapped women and children, which has seen her travel to the Middle East and to Asia to carry out covert operations.

Her most memorable being the rescue of a 23-year-old pregnant British woman, who had been kidnapped in Pakistan.

But just before the rescue, former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who Jacquie had previously protected, recognised her at a hotel.

She said: “Two hours later I got an anonymous phone call saying ‘get out, they know why you’re there’.

"But we weren’t leaving without the hostage, so we smashed in, grabbed her and left.

“We had to walk for three days, sleeping in the day and walking at night through the Himalayas to escape to India. The woman, who was pregnant, had been beaten, starved and raped for three months and was wearing a pair of flip flops, was a real hero.”

Discussing her current job, Jacqsheuie says the wetlands is at the forefront of her mind.

She said: “Here it’s just so lovely, you get to engage with the public and talk to them.

“In my previous jobs, you’re seen not heard, or if you’re on surveillance you’re not even seen. Here we can talk to people, keep them safe and educate them about the dangers of the water.

“It’s something different to what I’m used to. It’s quite relaxed and it’s beautiful here. Our total focus is what’s going on around the site to make sure it’s safe, and everyone stays safe.”

Walthamstow Wetlands was opened last year after £10.6 million, ten-year project. As part of Thames Water’s 2020-25 business plan, it will make more of its sites more accessible to the public.