FATHER-of-five Dale Monks has cleaned up in a prestigious competition organised by the BEN and Bolton council. The 39-year-old raced ahead of his competitors in his Green Machine, scooping the Street Cleaner of the Year Award. And Dale clearly loves his job in the town centre with the cleansing department.

He said: "I have no need to go on holiday, I get a tan and it's free."

Even when Dale gets back to his Sutton Road home in Deane from a day of cleaning streets, he does not mind doing a spot of cleaning.

But the award, for which Dale was nominated by appreciative members of the public, came as a great surprise to him.

"Being nominated is great, it's a feather in my cap.

"You have to be conscientious and nice to the public.

"But it is not just me, but everybody who works here, right from the top to us out there.

A former butcher, Dale has worked as a street cleaner for three years and he is now a popular figure in the town centre. In recent months the BEN has received many letters praising his cheerful manner.

He said he changed jobs because he "couldn't stand being stuck inside".

He first started as a street cleaner with a wheel barrow and brush, but things have improved "100 per cent" since he began driving Bolton's first Green Machine. And the diesel-fuelled vehicle, which costs around £20,000, has great appeal to youngsters.

He said: "Younger ones are amazed by it, throwing litter in front of the machine and watching it go in."

The machine is so much of an attraction that Dale was recently able to make a four-year-old's birthday wish come true - by letting the boy have his picture taken while "driving" the machine.

And as far as the drawbacks of the job are concerned - such as the recent stormy and wet weather - he is philosophical: "You have to take the rough with the smooth."

Trevor Leese, people and places programme manager, said: "Congratulations to Dale for doing an excellent job, not just for keeping our town centre in excellent condition, but for the cheerful and helpful assistance he gives to members of the public.

"These front line staff play an important role in promoting Bolton as a pleasant and attractive town to visit.

"But we can all help to make their job easier and improve our environment, by not dropping litter in the first place."

Dale has been nominated to receive an award in the Tidy Britain Group's Silver Broom Awards, which will be announced at a special presentation at the Reebok Stadium on January 27.

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