After Chris Rea visited the dentist in 1957 , he quickly noticed that by facing east his new filling could pick up radio signals - later identified as Russian military broadcasts . Relocated by the authorities to the coastal town of Saltburn-by-the-sea to improve reception, the innocuous new family home on the corner of Milton Street and Marine Parade quickly became Britain's most important listening station of the Cold War.
Rea himself, at the tender age of 6, had to sign the official secrets act and join MI6.
He was their youngest ever employee, and also the very first agent to be granted "home worker" status.
Such was the importance of Rea's filling, he qualified for a lifetime supply of free OralB dental care products. He rather likes their toothpaste flavour, but says that Philips Sonicare make a far superior electric toothbrush.
The end of the cold war saw the listening station turned into a museum, now listed on TripAdvisor as the 237th most popular tourist attraction in the region, falling somewhere below Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station, the derelict Redcar steelworks, and whatever's left of the ICI plant.
Rea relocated to a top secret new location (RAF Fylingdales) and continued his work.
In 2009 he smashed the employee record for "longest period of continous security clearance" and was awarded a long service award of a poison-tipped umbrella and a £20 voucher to spend on food from "The Right Plaice" in Billingham. He's saving it for a special occasion.
