Tracey Khanna spends a day with Mike Cording, senior enforcement officer in the socially diverse borough of Haringey.

The BBC painted a vivid picture of life as an environmental health officer when a television crew documented the work of the environmental services division at London's Haringey Council. The resultant television series "A life of grime" garnered a mixed review, depending on the viewer's perspective. The public seemed at once horrified yet fascinated by the revolting scenes of cockroach infestations, carrier bags full of human waste, insects in pizzas and illegally slaughtered goat carcasses, while many environmental health workers despaired at the negative spotlight which was cast over their profession.

Yet, the officers working for the environmental heath service at Haringey are keen to stress that the scenes shown in "A life of grime" only represent a snapshot of their day-to-day working lives. Haringey Council operates a highly successful scheme called the direct response officer service (affectionately referred to as DROS), which ensures that an initial environmental health assessment is made as quickly as possible after a complaint is received. This is normally the next working day.

For anyone who watched the first series of "A life of grime", the sorrowful case of 81-year-old Edmund Trebus will no doubt be familiar. For Mike Cording, the ever patient and increasingly harassed senior enforcement officer tasked with clearing 30 years' worth of junk, rotting rubbish, excrement and rats from the old man's property, this case is still a thorn in the council's side.

On the day I meet Mike, he has recently completed filming with the BBC for a special "one-off" follow-up programme. Mr Trebus, it seems, just can't stop collecting other people's rubbish, and the council has had to re-clear his property. I ask him what it felt like to be publicly vilified as a dictator, accused of robbing the old man of both his possessions and human rights, and to be likened to Ghengis Khan! He shrugs, and with a broad smile explains that while Mr Trebus is "a nice old chap" the way he lives is prejudicial to the health of others. He offers to take me round to the house later that day, so I can see for myself what the council is up against.

Nevertheless, I am not shadowing Mike for the day in the hope of running into Mr Trebus, but to experience the reality of life working for the environmental services team, without the benefit of resourceful editing. Our first visit is to a ground floor flat in Tottenham where the tenant has complained of a blocked and overflowing drain gully in the flat next door. The occupants of the flat with the blocked drain have erected a make-shift fence of corrugated iron, balanced against a steel drum, to stop the seepage getting into the garden. I am quite sickened by both the sight and smell of the blocked drain matter, but to an experienced officer, I am assured, this is mild. The complainant suspects that the tenants are refugees, and thus do not own the property. With a sigh, Mike notes that there will be a fair amount of detective work involved in order to find the owner and serve notice.

During the morning, we visit numerous properties across the borough in varying states of disrepair. One property, a one bedroom flat, has extreme damp in all rooms and fungi growing on the bathroom wall. There is evidence that the flat is also infested with mice. Mike notes that there are two other flats off the same landing, which suggests that the house is an HMO. The shared facilities are also in disrepair. He explains that he can serve notice on the owners of building for the vermin treatment, but will have to refer the case to a special HMO team for the other disrepair problems to be dealt with.

The investigation of another one bedroom flat, housing a young mother and two small children, reveals that that the "damp" which triggered the original complaint is actually being caused by condensation, due to inadequate ventilation. The young woman speaks little English but, through a friend, explains that the baby is suffering from asthma, and she feels that living in such conditions is worsening his health. Many of the people visited throughout the day are desperate for Mike's help, and there is a feel

ing that they expect him to carry out the necessary work himself to solve their problems immediately. There is a tangible sense of disappointment and frustration from many of the tenants when they realise that this is not the case. This was evident in an unusual complaint from the owner of a flat who suspects the owner of the flat above of urinating out of the window onto his patio. While Mick is extremely sympathetic and offers some advice, there is no legal route that environmental health can take to serve notice on the offender. It becomes clear that this is linked to a long-running dispute between the two men, and Mick suggests that he contact a tenancy relations officer within a separate division of the council. It's a sequence of events all to familiar to EHOs expected to perform daily miracles in the course of their routine.

On the way to lunch, we drive through Crouch End and stop by the house of infamous Mr Trebus. It is no surprise to Mike that, while it is only a matter of weeks since the last clearance, he has started "collecting" again. His attention now seems to have turned from old vacuum cleaners, washing machines, fridges and microwaves to the bright yellow bags of retail waste left outside shops for the council to collect. One suspects that this is one battle that will rage on.

Late in the afternoon, we attend a flat in an elderly person's sheltered housing to see a resident who Mike suspects, from the nature of the complaint, has a "filthy and verminous" abode. Instantly recognised by the warden as "that chap off the telly", we gain entry to the flat only to find that while the resident has been collecting old mattresses and clothes from outside and the flat is very dirty, it is not in a sufficient state for a notice to be legally served. His advice to the warden is to call again when the flat deteriorates. Mike knows that his actions often seem unsatisfactory to the complainant, but is at pains to point out that he can only act within the law. Officers are unable, and in fact unwilling, to stop people living in the conditions they choose, as dirty or unacceptable it may seem to others, if there is no health prejudice or severe nuisance.

"A life of grime" left a shuddering public wondering what motivates people to work for "Britain's least glamorous emergency service". Yet as we part, and Mike laughingly reminds me to watch the BBC's special update on Mr Trebus, I decide that, in this case, there might just be an element of glamour after all.

Readers may be interested in purchasing After an inspector calls (A guide to how to respond to an inspection by an environmental health officer/health and safety inspector) a new title available from the publications department for £59.95 each plus P&P. Tel: 020 7827 5882.