WORKING in a freezer at a dairy every day is simply not cold enough for Allan Thomas - which is why he is off to the Antarctic for two-and-a-half years.

The 31-year-old has left his job at Express Creamery, in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, to work at the British Antarctic Survey's immense Halley Research Station.

The electrician, originally from Redcar, east Cleveland, says he will have no bother putting this year's supply of Christmas woolly socks to good use.

Mr Thomas will utilise the skills he has learned maintaining the cold store at the creamery to make sure the research centre's power supply, vital for the survival of the 16-man research team, is in good condition.

The former pupil of Saltscar, now West Redcar School, in Redcar, will be part of a team of scientists and technicians.

The findings of the Halley centre were broadcast around the world when the research team discovered the hole in the ozone layer in 1985.

Mr Allan, who is single, will set off on a three-week voyage to the South Pole, via the Falklands, on Thursday.

He will then spend six months with the same few people without a break.

He said: "The temperatures at the blast tunnel at the creamery went down to minus two, but in the Antarctic they go below and never rise above zero. Wind speeds can easily touch 100mph.

"My mum cried when I moved 30 miles away to Northallerton, now I'm travelling 11,000 miles.

"We'll be about 10km from the nearest penguin, which is why you're chosen on your ability to get on with people as much as your technical ability.

"I want to go because it's the last unpopulated place on the planet, very few people have been there and I want to see the auroras of the southern skies."

Antarctica facts:

* It is more than 58 times the size of the UK, and the coldest and windiest continent in the world. Technically, it is a desert.

* Allan will live in 24-hour darkness towards the end of the year in his home on the Brunt Ice Shelf.

* Pioneering research began at the British centre at Halley in the 1950s, although Britain has been exploring the continent for more than 200 years. Today, it is shared by scientists from 28 countries, including Britain.

* Scientists access atmospheric bubbles which have been trapped in 4km of ice for up to 500,000 years. They also examine sea levels and ice sheets to monitor global warming.

* Tourists often visit to see the aurora, or Southern Lights - electrical storms of charged particles sent out from solar flares on the sun.