JOANNE Nuttall is definitely a girl in a man's world, but as the only female gas fitter in Lancashire she is loving every minute of it!

The bubbly 22-year-old from Rossendale works in her father Ken's business which is based in Bradford.

She is no stranger to working in professions considered strictly jobs for the boys because until last October she was a driver in the army and has served time in Northern Ireland.

On leaving the Forces Joanne, of Ramsey Avenue, Bacup, tried to get a job as a driver but when nothing came up she accompanied her father on jobs.

She said: "Initially it was only meant to be for a couple of weeks but I really enjoyed myself and things have gone from there. "Perhaps because of my army training I can cope physically with the job and if it comes down to it I am more than capable of hammering a hole through a wall or anything else that might need doing.

"People are usually surprised when they see me because they say they have never seen a girl fitting gas fires!"

Joanne went back to college and passed the Approved Codes of Practice one to 15, qualifications which every gas fitter is required to have before October.

She had also just passed all the CORGI exams and is waiting for her registration to come through.

Joanne added: "Being a gas fitter is not something a girl dreams of but I am enjoying the job. One thing is for sure though, the customer's don't seem to mind having a woman's touch around the house."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.