DANIEL O'Connor is a down-to- earth sort of guy.

During the day he is a council waste minimisation officer, and at night, or more likely at weekends, he likes to get down and dirty with worms.

For Daniel is a worm charmer - with designs on becoming a world champion.

He has been promoting composting wormeries, which are used to reduce kitchen waste and produce a rich fertiliser, as part of his day job with Durham County Council.

But after running out of worms during a recent farm workshop at Eggleston Show he hit on the idea of the council hosting its own championships.

The World Worm Charming Championships are held in Willaston, Cheshire, with competitors from far and wide trying to attract to the surface as many worms as they can in their allotted patch.

The world record has stood since 1980 and was set by Tom Shufflebotham, of Chester, who raised 511 worms from a 9ft square plot in half-an-hour.

"Our first wormery workshop at Eggleston Show last week was so popular that we ran out of worms, and with another workshop due this weekend, we've had to buy in worms from Scotland," he said.

"When I looked into ways of solving the problem, I found out about worm charming and the world record and thought it would be good to make an attempt on it here in County Durham.

"We have been doing a bit of worm charming at the front of County Hall and we got about three or four in ten minutes.

"We used the most effective method, creating the effect of rain. We stabbed the ground with a garden pitchfork and then twanged the prongs."

The next wormery workshop will be tomorrow, although worm charming will not be on the agenda.

It will be held at Derwentside District Council's Morrison Busty depot, Annfield Plain, near Stanley, from 9am to noon.

"We'll be supplying the worms, the gravel and a tap. All people need to bring is a tub or a bin with a secure lid," said Mr O'Connor.

Durham County Council and Derwentside District Council officers will provide the instructions. It is free and open to all County Durham residents.

Councillor Alan Cox, the county council's cabinet member for waste minimisation and recycling, said : "Wormeries are a great way to dispose of kitchen scraps and they provide a high-quality compost as well as excellent bait for fishing."

Anyone unable to attend the workshop can obtain a free guide to making a wormery by calling Mr O'Connor on 0191-383 3186. People can also buy them at the discounted price of £66 from the website www.recycle now.org.uk/compost