NOW here we see a job which was not for someone who had a fine sense of smell.

This is a shot of two workmen taking part in old-time sanitation in the back streets of Colne around the turn of the 20th century.

Once a week, the ash-middens and outdoor privies in the back yards of rows of terraced houses were emptied.

The unpleasant task of disposing of the waste in the prevvies' tubs fell to these workmen - the euphemistically named 'night soil' men.

As the name implied, the work was usually carried out at night.

Here, one of the workmen is emptying one of the tubs into the horse-drawn tank.

Not surprisingly, his ladle has an extremely long handle.

Afterwards the men spread lime to help deter the spread of disease

It might not have been a clean job, but it was an honest job.