BINDIANA Jones, Mad Mac, John McBride or just Mac - whatever the name, there is a good chance anyone connected with Wyre Forest has heard of "Kidderminster's famous globe-trotting binman" as he has been described in dozens - possibly hundreds - of newspaper articles.

Mac, 55, has visited about 96 countries - many of them world-renowned troublespots - and filled five passports - in the past 22 years.

His often dramatic exploits have brought him media attention from as far away as Australia and his very own television documentary.

"I believe the minute you're born, your life is destined to go in a certain direction. I get a big kick out of all the newspaper articles and people saying hello in the street, but I still see myself as an ordinary person. I try to keep my feet on the ground," he said.

Mac, by his own admission, graduated from the school of hard knocks - with honours. A tough upbringing in a large family culminated in the death of his father when Mac was 26.

In 1971 he joined the army, and his "urge to see things that others don't, an addiction to action and danger" was fed by a spell in Northern Ireland. Five years later he left the forces: "I was bored. I was going nowhere."

A nine-month spell on the dole while living with his sisters in Bewdley left Mac with itchy feet. One day, he got on a bus and before he knew it he had travelled overland across India to Sri Lanka.

The rest, as they say, is history - a history that has been faithfully documented in the regional and national press.

"Every time I go abroad, I expect not to be coming back.

"However, I was born to travel. I know where to buy cheap air tickets, and I usually spend no more than £3 a night when I'm away.

"My employers, the council, have been extremely helpful. I save up my holiday and take it all in one go."

Mac once appeared on TV with lookalike Jim Bowen, but insists people are more interested in him for what he does.

"The one word people keep using to describe me is 'hyperactive'. I'm always on the go, I can't sit still. I live a whole lifetime each time I go away.

"You can forget package holidays. For me, it's all about getting involved with the local people - wherever you are. I use sign language and hard work to get by," he said.

His burning ambition is for someone to write his biography: "I'd hate it if I passed on and I hadn't told my story."

Someone once said: "You'd have to shoot Mac to stop him." The likelihood is, it would take a lot more than that.