Series synopsis
In 2001 the BBC's ‘A Life of Grime' series moved north-west to Manchester's twin city, Salford.
Across the eight films, there was a familiar range of environmental services such as food inspectors, pest controllers and refuse collectors. But the Salford series also focused on less familiar local services such as drain-clearers, graffiti cleaners and the city's crematoria.
Fighting filth is the top priority but the series also included a fair helping of dark humour - the only way that these people can recharge their batteries and carry on the fight against grime.
Please note all information contained in these pages was relevant whilst filming was being carried out in the Summer of 2001.
Programme 1
The programme opens with Brian Livesey and his street cleansing team as they continue the endless fight against rubbish dumped in the back alleys of Salford's familiar red brick terraces. But the duo with the strongest stomachs are Mike Thomas and Roy Chadwick - the jetters - who use high pressure jets (1500 pounds per square inch) to unblock the city's drains.
Steve Hodgkinson & Byron Hunt are Salford's pest controllers who keep their own menagerie of rescued fish, spiders and love birds - all called Charlie (to avoid confusion).
Programme 2
This episode featured the sad story of an old man whose home is under attack from local vandals. The latest incident involved an arson attack on his garage, causing asbestos fibres to fall like snowflakes across the neighbourhood. Not surprisingly, Salford's environmental team have to move fast to prevent a major health scare.
Meanwhile, jetters Mike and Roy have to clear a disgusting drain blockage at the home of a local councillor; and Brian's street cleansers clear a derelict house in which squatters have left thousands of needles.
Programme 3
The programme introduces Gary and Barry, the double-act who run the Peel Park crematorium. Barry's the front man with a suit and a wide range of appropriate music for the services; Gary works down below, running the furnaces...and recounting tales of unfortunate - but highly amusing - mishaps that only this job can provide.
Meanwhile, the jetters encounter a serious drain blockage that is causing a neighbourhood dispute; and the food inspectors organise a competition to find the best curry chef in Salford - and then dine out at the winners' restaurant for their troubles.
Programme 4
Its a dog's life in Programme 4. Salford's dog warden, Ian Robinson, spends an entire day chasing a pack of wild dogs who are themselves on the trail of an Alsatian bitch in heat. When at last the much-pursued 'lady' is cornered in a back garden, it becomes apparent that she has a strong dislike of men, so Ian calls upon his boss, Lynne Rogers, to complete the capture.
Meanwhile, Salford's Jewish quarter comes under the spotlight as the bin men learn to cope with unusually high quantity of refuse thrown out by Orthodox Jews and food inspector, Marianne Rolfe, has strong words about hygiene standards in a Jewish girls' school.
Programme 5
Hard times at Salford's crematorium dominate the opening scenes of Programme 5. Backroom boy, Gary Fraser, has a backlog of coffins to burn because his furnaces are out of order. And outside, pest officers, Steve Hodgkinson and Byron Hunt, are reluctantly dealing with a large bees nest that is disturbing mourners. They're reluctant because bees aren't normally considered pests and their insecticide may be spread to nests all around the neighbourhood.
Programme 5 also sees the first appearance of Ian Royle and Duane Hignett, the duo charged with cleaning up Salford's never-ending graffiti. They can spray it off with acid or cover it with paint but no matter how hard they try, the graffiti artists always seem to return with a vengeance.
Programme 6
Salford's younger generation come under the spotlight. During school hours, the council's graffiti team, Ian and Duane, must move fast to clear teenage artwork from the city's subways. Meanwhile, the street cleansers - Brian, Ellis & Rob - are visiting the schools to encourage children to pick up their litter.
At another school, a stray dog is causing alarm as he bares his fangs at anyone who comes close. Dog warden, Ian Robinson, is on the trail but has to rely on local folk to supply a tin of dog food with which to lure the errant beast into his van.
Programme 7
Programme 7 is dominated by problems both underground and in the air. Mrs Hannah Feld and her family have been dogged for years by awful smells emanating from her cellar, which keeps filling up with a mysterious foul liquid.
The cause is far from clear and requires many visits from the council's 'drain surgeons', Mike and Roy, for the problem to be diagnosed, never mind cured. Meanwhile, the city's pigeon population are presenting a growing aerial menace. In one block of flats, the residents can no longer use their balconies, so bad is the build-up of bird poo.
A local Catholic group have high hopes for converting a derelict building into a community centre but only after pest officers, Steve and Byron, have cleared the resident pigeon population and street cleansers, Brian & Tony, have removed their smelly residue.
Programme 8
The final visit to Salford follows 'drain surgeon' Roy Chadwick on his last working day before retirement.
The sewage problems in Hannah Feld's cellar seen in the previous programme are so complex that they have outlasted Roy's tenure in the job. However a solution is on the way - eventually.
Down at the crematorium, something is lurking underground. A colony of moles is causing mayhem in the adjoining graveyard and Pest Control must take swift action. Meanwhile, inside the crem Gary and Barry are putting their heads together to come up with some of the most original and amusing choices of funeral music, with suggestions put forward by other members of staff.
This page was last updated on 18 June 2010
