JOHN Wood is a man with a strong stomach and a passion for improving pollution levels in Blackburn and Darwen.

As an environmental health officer working for the local authority, his job takes him to some unusual places from paint factories to maggot farms.

"They say variety is the spice of life and you certainly get that in this job," said John.

"Basically, I look after pollution in the borough, by making sure businesses comply with the law, checking out complaints about things such as noise and smoke and investigating where necessary. It's really rewarding to know that I'm doing something practical to help improve people's quality of life."

Before starting at the council two years ago, John's previous jobs included stints at a timeshare resort and as a crew member on Windermere Lake Cruises. He also tried his hand at bar work while studying environmental health at Leeds Metropolitan University.

"I've had what you could call a varied career so far," said John. "But most of my jobs have been about helping people, whether it's on a boat, behind a bar, or on behalf of the council.

"All of these jobs have stood me in good stead for my current role," he added. "I like to think that I have a good understanding of people, which helps a lot when you're trying to talk to people about the way their business works, or when you are handling a complaint from someone about a nearby factory, for example."

John admits the job's not for everyone and that sometimes you need a strong constitution to handle the work: "As you can imagine, in this job, I get to see some sights. Thankfully, most of the work doesn't involve muck and grime and is really about handling customer complaints, being diplomatic and solving problems. Some of the work is also quite technical such as assessing noise and air quality reports, for example."

John is also involved with addressing the problem of neighbourhood nuisance, including instances of noisy neighbours.

"People don't realise it, but noisy neighbours can really make life hell for people living nearby. Excessive noise can cause stress, so we work hard to tackle the problem."

One way that the council is doing this is through the recent introduction of the night-time noise service. "The new service is fantastic for local people as it means that we are around to monitor noise levels and provide advice at the times that people are most affected by it. On the flipside, it means that this isn't a nine to five job, but it's really interesting work and I'd recommend it to anyone."