For Mick Woods, there is no better way to spend the working week than learning all about the life of the person whose grave he will eventually be digging.

For 40 years, Mick has worked in Mansfield Cemetery and, despite finding it a bit more tiring than he used to, he hopes to carry on working there until he starts collecting his pension in six years.

“I originally applied for a job as a gardener with the district council. I didn’t get that one, but they said there was a gravedigger’s job if I wanted it — so I took it and have never looked back,” he said.

“I have always been in a good team and the opportunities that the council gives for learning has always been very good. I have been on some interesting courses, like tree work and chain-sawing, and all sorts of different aspects of gardening.

“When people ask me what I do, I just blurt it out — gravedigger/gardener. That’s what I am and what I have done for last 40 years.

“You do get the odd joke like, ‘you must work in the dead centre of Mansfield’ or ‘your job must be dead boring’! But I just let them wash over me. I am quite happy doing what I am doing and that’s the main thing.”

Mick said there have been quite a few changes over the years, but in many ways the process of digging graves has remained largely unchanged. There are just more dug with a machine these days.

“We only dig by hand when we cannot get a machine in or if we are reopening a plot and don’t want to disturb the coffin,” he added.

“If the ground freezes we just have to get through the ground as best we can. We have only once had to cancel a funeral because of bad weather in 40 years.

“We usually fill in a grave as soon as the family have dispersed. They sometimes come back 30 minutes later and we like to have it all tidied up by then.”

Occasionally — though more often than many people would imagine — Mick and his colleagues have to carry out exhumations.

It is not generally because of a criminal investigation, but usually because when people move away from the area, increasingly they want to relocate the remains of loved ones at the same time. Sometimes families choose to cremate the exhumed remains.

Exhumations, as is tradition in the UK, are usually carried out discreetly in the dark, just before dawn.

But working in the cemetery at night — for instance, if an alarm goes off at one the sheds — is not something that gives Mick any scares.

“It’s not those who are buried there that cause us problems; it’s those in there that are still alive that give us the grief!” he said.

Mostly though, Mick enjoys the interaction the job gives him with members of the public as well as spending a large part of his life in what must rank as one of the most peaceful and pleasant workplaces around.

“Sometimes we have to find graves for people researching their family history or pick a plot when they want to bury a loved one. You get to know the history of the person you are burying, which can be interesting,” he added. “I like meeting people. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Coun Andy Burgin, portfolio holder for Environment and Leisure at the council, said: “Remaining in any job for 40 years is a remarkable achievement and some people may think that a grave digger is a rather lowly position. Far from it!

“Being responsible for ensuring that our cemeteries remain an immaculate tribute to the loved ones buried there is a big responsibility and Mick and the team do an amazing job in all weathers. They deserve to feel proud of their contribution to life — and death — in Mansfield in delivering this vital public service.”

For more information about bereavement services, cremations, burials, what to do when someone dies, and arranging a funeral, go to http://www.mansfieldcrematorium.co.uk