IT WAS a dirty job, but they did it! That well-known-known Yorkshire saying "Where there's muck there's brass" could not have been more true.

Evening Press reporters Simon Horsborough and Liz Todd successfully completed their sponsored muck-out at Flamingo Land zoo on Saturday, raising hundreds of pounds towards the Evening Press Get On Board campaign.

"It was hard work and the work we did was pretty disgusting, but it was a good cause and well worth it," said Simon. "We asked zoo staff to give us the filthiest jobs available and they certainly did." Last week, the campaign, which has been spearheaded by PC Stewart Ashton, of Malton Police, was successfully completed when the skate park was opened in Norton last week.

The park has been built with grants and donations from local businesses - and sponsorship money from Simon and Liz.

"Thanks to generous friends and colleagues we've managed to raise more than £400 towards paying for building the park," said Liz.

"I live on a farm, so when my dad and his friends heard I was going to do a sponsored muck-out at the zoo he thought I was crazy. He tried to talk us into doing our muck-out at home to give him a bit of a break.

"Mucking out at a farm may be tough, but it's nothing compared with a zoo."

Simon said: "As soon as we arrived in the morning the keepers put us to work cleaning out the alpaca section. It was back breaking work and really smelly because it involved shifting what seemed like a ton of soiled hay. Alpacas are like llamas and are very curious and friendly so we had an audience watching us all morning."

The next job involved helping to clear the camels' compound.

After a brief stint feeding some emus, Simon and Liz were sent to help clear an area where the zebras and oryxs graze. The keepers had kept perhaps the worst - if not the smelliest - job until last. "Penguins might look cute from a distance but up close they reek of rotten fish, salt and, well, penguin poo," says Simon.

Updated: 11:27 Monday, May 27, 2002