Simon Bradshaw, the editor of The Argus in Brighton, has published hundreds of articles about the runway at Gatwick airport… but never thought he’d end up sweeping it!

The newspaper man – who last got his hands dirty 25 years ago – saw first-hand what keeps the world’s busiest single-runway airport ticking round the clock after being “bought” at a charity auction in aid of The Argus Appeal.

The purchaser was Caroline Nicholls, public affairs chief for the BAA at Gatwick, which owns and runs the aiport.

Simon said: “She paid £1,000 for me in a slave auction and I was there to do her bidding.”

After a 6.45am start, Simon found himself cleaning rubbish on aircraft with the grooming teams from OCS.

He said: “The cabins were in a terrible mess and I’m not surprised that the cleaning team works so hard. But I was amazed at how quickly they clean an aircraft.”

He was then sent to mop the runway in between aircraft arrivals and had to avoid a few deafening jet turbines on the aircraft stands.

His next duty was to assist wheelchair-bound passengers off a Tampa flight.

Passenger Doris Maundell said she had never been pushed around by an editor before – but then she has never worked at The Argus!

Simon was given a tour of the South terminal and sat at an information desk, helping stranded and bemused passengers.

He said: “To be honest I was humbled by the people on that desk. They were patient, helpful and multi-lingual.”

A visit to the terminal control room, trolley-pushing detail, a stint with easyJet staff and a runway bird-scaring exercise rounded off the day of slavery.

When the airline staff found a suspect package and alerted security Simon thought he had a scoop on his hands.

“It turned out to be two shirts and a pair of trousers,” he said disappointedly. “We never did find who had left them behind.”

He added: “I had a great day and was hugely impressed by the unseen army of people who keep the holiday traffic flowing through the airport.

“It has been a very enjoyable experience. The last time I got my hands dirty like this I was in Herefordshire hop fields when I was at school and I hated it.”

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