UNSUNG heroes who make sure a Bromsgrove hospital runs like clockwork have been brought out into the spotlight in an annual report from health chiefs.

The hard working porters are rarely seen as they go about their vital business at the Princess of Wales Community Hospital.

But the five of them cover about six miles every day around the corridors and grounds, fetching and carrying, sorting and delivering - and all with a cheerful smile.

Supervisor Neil Leddington and his team of Philip Reynolds, David Banner, Mick Winwood and Dale Simpson are delighted that their work has been recognised officially in the report.

"Without them, the hospital wouldn't run and they're very pleased that people will be able to find out about the work they do," said PCT spokesman Kimara Sharpe.

Working in a shift pattern from 7am until 8pm, their first job is to unlock the doors for staff to get in.

Then they clear the dirty laundry, put out breakfasts onto the wards and go and collect waste from the departments outside the main hospital in Brookhaven, Redgrove and Church View.

Along the way, they try and stay cheerful and keep everybody's spirits up.

"They're a happy team and they really enjoy working there," Kimara said. "They see it as part of their job to keep smiling but there are occasions when they also have to be sensitive and tactful."

A task calling for this kind of tact is detailed in the report's One Day In The Life Of A Porter, when they are called to prepare a body for viewing and wait outside while relatives pay their last respects.

Collecting bodies and shifting dirty laundry shows it's not a job for the squeamish. And aside from their regular tasks like delivering post, they're always on call to the bleeper summoning them to turn their hands to a variety of unseen but vitally important projects.

Bodies, bins and bundles of post - it's all in a days work for the smiling porters at the Princess of Wales.