Chimney-sweeps back in business

Lviv's dwindling band of chimney-sweepers is back in demand. The exceptionally harsh winter, coupled with the authorities' pleas for Lvivians to use less gas, have meant that chimney-sweeps are working round the clock.

After the controversial new gas deal with Russia went through last month, many of Lviv's inhabitants resuscitated their nineteenth century stoves, once an essential part of every apartment in the city.

Dmitry Pursky, who has been in the job for twenty years, told Russia's Itar-Tass Press that there are simply not enough colleagues to do the rounds.

100 years ago Lviv still had scores of chimney-sweeps, but the number has fallen to just 40 in recent times. Just as it was in the olden days, challenges involve not only cleaning, but also rescuing animals that have tried to take shelter from the cold.