ONE-MAN marvel Alan Quinton is today enjoying a taste of celebrity status as Grimebuster of the Year.

The chemical plant worker scooped the prestigious environmental award at yesterday's Grimewatch awards.

And within minutes he had been booked to open a school nature reserve in May.

Thrilled Alan was delighted with his prize, which he won after transforming a small corner of William Blythe's chemical plant in Church into a haven for wildlife.

He said: "This is out of this world. That's a lovely surprise. I never expected it at all.

"It is brilliant to get a prize for doing something that I enjoy so much. "I haven't planned what to do with the prize money yet but I will spend it on the project, probably to buy more plants and shrubs."

Alan created the garden area next door to the effluent plant where he works.

It regularly attracts a wide variety of birdlife as well as badgers, mink and even young roe deer.

It is living proof that with just a little bit of effort industry and a healthy environment can exist together side by side.

The keen bird-watcher did all the work in his own time with financial and practical backing and support from the company.

He said: "I only had a piece of overgrown land to look out on to and I wanted to do something with it.

"Although I have made it into a garden that looks nice, the real idea of it for me was to attract more birds and wildlife to the area.

Alan received his prize from Colin Burford of Lancashire Waste Services and former Environment Minister Sir David Trippier.

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