Unbeknown to Daniel, Mrs Haverthwaite contacted the probation service a few moments after he left and spoke to his probation officer, explaining that the young man has been going door to door seeking odd jobs. “That would be Daniel, I expect.” the probation officer said. They chatted for a few minutes and whilst Mrs Haverthwaite insisted that she wasn’t trying to find out how Daniel got himself into trouble, she did quite directly ask if he was either violent or a thief. “No no… nothing like that.” the probation officer insisted. “Daniel’s easily led and just ended up with the wrong crowd in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he informed her.

Satisfied that her instincts toward Daniel’s good nature were correct, she sent Daniel a text message that evening asking him to return to her home at 10 am on Friday morning, but stressed that she’s only offering him a trial rather than regular work at this stage. Daniel replied by text thanking her and confirming that he’ll be there.

Keen to make a good impression, Daniel makes sure he’s smart and presentable for Mrs Haverthwaite. He irons a shirt, shaves his face, puts a sharp crease on his best trousers, scrubs his fingernails, polishes his shoes, combs his hair and sets off in good time. He walks up the hill to Plushton; a village that enjoys a lovely view over the valley in which the run-down mill town and his home on the grotty Foundry Estate are nestled. Despite wearing his smartest clothes, Daniel feels like an intruder in the affluent village. He becomes increasingly nervous as he nears Mrs Haverthwaite’s house, and takes a deep breath before knocking on her door.

“Daniel.” the lady smiled. “Do come in,” she said. No shoes are allowed in the house but she does have a small selection of slippers for her guests to wear. She gives him a routine that begins with changing her bedding, giving her bedroom a quick tidy/dust before vacuuming the carpet. Then he cleans the upstairs bathroom, followed by dusting the furniture and balustrade on the landing and vacuuming the landing carpet. After dusting the banister, he’s on his hands and knees sweeping the stair carpet with a dustpan and brush. The hallway is dusted, its mirror polished and the floor mopped and dried. Next comes the kitchen floor, followed by cleaning the utility room and downstairs lavatory. Finally, he tidies the lounge, dusts the furniture, plumps up the cushions, and vacuums the carpet and rug. Apart from changing her bedding, which is only done on a Friday, he is expected to do all the above on both Tuesday and Friday… plus any additional chores which she’ll put on the fridge. Today, he also cleans her dining room; dusting, polishing and vacuuming, and in return, she gives him £30 in cash.

Having never worked so hard in his life, Daniel feels exhausted yet proud of his efforts as he paces down the hill back towards town. Friday afternoon is the day he has a mandatory meeting with his Probation Officer, so Daniel heads directly to there and looks forward to telling his probation officer that he’s got one regular job; two mornings a week. “Well done Daniel… but you’ll need more than that if you’re going to make something of yourself.” the probation officer advised. Daniel agreed and said he’d continue going door-to-door seeking odd jobs every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Daniel spent the weekend killing time milling around his bedsit, watching TV, eating inexpensive ready meals and flicking through magazines. On Monday he goes door-to-door seeking odd jobs and after mostly getting doors slammed in his face, he’s offered the task of clearing up a back garden after what appears to be a rowdy beer-fuelled barbecue. The lawn and patio is littered with empty beer cans, bottles, cigarette ends, chicken bones, half-eaten burgers, bits of salad, paper plates and greasy napkins. He fills two bin bags and charges ten pounds for the hour he worked.