Their 'The Management' characters played up the dim-bulb image of doormen, always ready with a menacing glare and the threat of an imminent kicking.

But the job of a doorman has changed immensely in recent years, with police crackdowns on gang-run club 'security' operations and a new national licensing scheme.

As part of the Evening Post's Working Lives series, reporter Ben Robinson spoke to Ross Derbyshire, 19, who has recently qualified from Preston College with a National Diploma in Public Services and works at clubs in Lancaster and Preston, and Ray McLoughlin, 42, who retired as a full-time doorman after working in bars and clubs across Preston.

Ben Robinson (BR): In an age of binge drinking, being a doorman sounds like a stressful career choice, how and why did you get into it?

Ross Derbyshire (RD): "I am a family friend of Dave Clegg who runs Elite Security in Preston and he suggested I try it. His sons, Chris and Andy, who are also involved, gave me a lot of help and advice and I thought it was something I could do.

"I do not do it as an ego thing. I am one of the youngest in Preston but I work hard.

"A lot of people my age do it for the reputation of being a hard man on the door but I would not advise other people my age to do it. You have to be doing it for the right reasons.

"I applied for my Security Industry Authority licence shortly after I was 18. I did it at Runshaw College and it was all theory. A more practical side would have been useful."

Ray McLoughlin (RM): "It (the qualification) used to be run by the council and if you did not have it, nobody said anything anyway.

"After a few years they said I had to get one. I did it in the summer of 1991.

"When it came to the exam it was multiple choice. They said 'If you encounter a small fire, do you A – pour petrol over it, B – dampen it with hay or C – try and extinguish the flames but call the fire brigade if it gets out of hand?'

"They told me to consider it carefully and even said I could have a 20-minute recap at the end. You would almost pass if you could spell your name."

For the full feature see Thursday's Lancashire Evening Post.

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