ON Good Friday I got up at 5am and went to do a shift with Southampton’s bin men. It’s not often you see a female politician in a high-vis vest and steelcapped boots walking into the City Depot, so I got a few laughs.

But by the end of the day they made me feel right at home.

Emptying bins isn’t a glamorous job, but these workers have got amazing pride in their work. One guy, Simon, said he felt bin men were the “eyes and ears of the city”. A lot of them grew up in the areas they’re working, and they would always stop if someone needed help.

There’s also great camaraderie.

My crew, Bulk 3, were singing “My old man’s a dustman” as they drove around in the sun.

They laughed about the craziest things they’ve ever picked up, including a new guitar, a life-size inflatable doll and a dead goose!

Of course the work is hard.

Their shift starts at 6am and normally runs for eight hours, during which time they pick up about 15 tonnes of rubbish. Our round took us from Hulse Road around the Golden Grove and Northam estates, where the bins are heavier than normal.

Serious injuries are rare, but trips and falls are common.

Pay has been frozen for years, and many bin men also have to seek benefits to support their families. Those employed directly by the council say they get an okay deal, but those working alongside them from agencies get paid the minimum wage – £6.31 an hour – and go unpaid if off work injured.

But the bin men said they felt really loved by our city. At one set of flats a little girl looks out and waves every morning.

Residents smile and call out their names as they drive around. At Christmas, tips and packs of beer get left on bin tops for them.

By the end of one five-hour shift, we’d picked up six tonnes of rubbish and dumped it in the tip, and I was absolutely knackered. I also smelt bad, but I didn’t care. I was full of pride for the work these guys were doing for us. As one bin man, Keith, put it at the end: “I can’t imagine a better job.”

Rowenna Davis, Labour’s candidate for Parliament in Southampton Itchen