IT could be a tale of a double-identity ripped straight from the pages of a comic book.

But this tale of firefighter by day, comic book writer by night is no work of fiction.

Jon Laight spends his days working as watch commander at Worcester Fire Station.

But in his spare time he fuels his burning passion for writing by penning his own comic books.

On Saturday, Mr Laight will be holding a special signing event at Hide N Geeks comic book shop, in Reindeer Court, Worcester, to mark the launch of his latest title, Late Knights: A Sense of Steel, the first comic he has written aimed at children.

Mr Laight, 41, said: “I’m a closeted comic book nerd. I’ve always encouraged children to read.

“Having children of my own, I encourage them to read comics and books rather than play on iPads and iPhones, this goes for all children.”

Mr Laight has worked as a firefighter for more than 18 years and decided to take up comic book writing about eight years ago, after being a fan of the genre since he was six-years-old.

Wanting to spread his love of story writing he officially started writing again and, with the help of illustrators, published his first comic, Brethren Born, last year.

Its success exceeded his wildest expectations, completely selling out within a few weeks, prompting him to write more comics.

As part of his drive to encourage children to read more, Mr Laight is running a competition offering children the chance to have their own characters included in a future comic in the Late Knights series.

Youngsters are asked to draw and submit their own super heroes or super villains, together with a back story and their chosen art style.

The winner will have their character drawn and included in an upcoming comic and will receive 10 free copies.

Entries must be submitted by January 31, 2017. For more information and to enter, visit level8comics.com.