Mechanic Stephen’s dream job in icy Antarctica

AN INTREPID mechanic from High Crompton has swapped life working in a garage for life in the bone-chilling cold of stunning Antarctica.

The sun can shine for 24 hours a day and temperatures can plummet to minus 50C, but that didn’t deter mechanic Stephen Pollitt.

Stephen first saw a job application to travel to the south pole as a plant and vehicle mechanic three years ago.

After an interview in Cambridge he scooped the job of his dreams, a five-month summer post working on the building of a new British research station Halley 6.

Stephen, (36), said: “Once you arrive here there is no dealing with money, everything is paid for, it’s great fuelling up a vehicle and not having to pay.

“There are no shops, no traffic, its just a peaceful place to be but very cold. It is fantastic to be part of this team.

“I feel very proud to be working down here, I am one of few people who will ever get the chance to come to this spectacular place.”

Built on the Brunt ice shelf, the new project is being created as the current station is on the wrong side of a predicted carving line that could see a giant iceberg detach and take the station with it. A former Blue Coat School pupil, Stephen works as a mechanic in Heyside when not on the other side of the world, and moved into his new home in High Crompton just a fortnight before setting off for his most recent trip last November.

It’s his responsibility to maintain the bulldozers, cranes, tractors, skidoos and the extra vehicles currently relocating the Halley station.

The intensely cold climate can play havoc with the vehicles, meaning the team regularly have to heat a vehicle up for over an hour before it is ready to use.

Working flat-out alongside three other mechanics, he often works 12 and 14 hour days, six days a week.

Internet and phone access is limited.

Speaking from the station he said: “We have Sundays off to catch up on sleep and relax sometime they have trips down to the coast to see the penguins or go ice climbing, the views down there are breathtaking.

“The best part off the job is the work.

“I love my job and having the chance to work in this remote and extreme environment is just amazing.

“I think the worst part is not having your own space, by this I mean your own room.

“You have to share bunk rooms with up to four in a room and the room is very small to say the least.”

Partner Jane Proudlove, (36), and stepdaughter Nicole are eagerly awaiting his return, and hoping he will make it in time for Nicole’s 16th party on March 21.

Jane said: “We just can’t wait to see him.

“It’s a completely different world down there but he absolutely loves it and I would never stop him going.”

Heading back home in itself will be a mission.

He is expected to travel by ice-breaking ship via the Falklands, which could take up to two weeks.

Stephen even took Dr Kershaw’s Alex the Meerkat on his trip in memory of his grandma Hilda Marsden, who died at the hospice just days before he left for work.