COMFY shoes and clipboards are the tools of the trade for two Droitwich Spa pensioners collecting information for the 2001 census.

Pals Fred Lakin and Walter Bennett have been employed by the Government to collect the vital data.

Over the next two months they'll walk miles around the Westlands estate where they live, interviewing people and handing out questionnaires.

The men, who are both aged 68, met through their connections with Droitwich Spa Wine Circle and have spent holidays together for ten years.

Mr Lakin, of Hunters Green, said: "I have 480 visits to make in the coming weeks so I shall be meeting lots of residents.

"I've already started the rounds and it's tiring work."

The census has been carried out every ten years since 1801.

Information gathered forms the basis of how public sector money is distributed to local authorities, including the police and health trusts.

It gives an official count of the population and a statistical assessment of society today.