A PEMBROKESHIRE County Council lifeguard has dived into a new role ‘on the bins’ and attracted widespread support and publicity.

Zoe Coleman had been working at Pembroke Leisure Centre before the centre was closed as part of the response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Zoe, 20, from Pembroke Dock was offered the chance to redeploy to work on the authority’s waste and recycling lorries and jumped at the opportunity.

And her move has struck a chord with press and TV journalists clamouring to interview the student.

A post of Zoe wearing the waste team’s high-vis jacket and trousers on the video sharing site TikTok attracted more than 225,000 views and has since featured on BBC and ITV.

And now BBC Breakfast want to speak to Zoe about her new role in front of millions of viewers on BBC One.

It is hoped the broadcast will happen before the end of the week.

Zoe said: “The whole thing is bonkers. I’ve had so many TV and radio stations get in touch. I wasn’t expecting that at all.

“With the job I didn’t really know what to expect and although I’m thoroughly enjoying it, it is a lot more tiring than I initially imagined. It certainly is a new way for me to see the countryside.

“Without being on the lorries I would never have seen all these parts of Pembrokeshire so the job certainly has its perks - especially on sunny days - the job can be quite pleasant.”

Zoe said the support she received has been fantastic.

“I’ve had nothing but heart-warming, supportive comments – the vast majority of which have come from other women.

“But I think there is gratitude coming from the whole community for the work of the waste team.

“I’ve also seen on Facebook that people are starting to leave messages on top of their bins saying thanks - this is a lovely boost to help us.

“Although I haven’t been doing this job long and it’s only a temporary role, I give 110 per cent of the credit to the permanent workers who get the job done all year round - they definitely deserve the credit.”

Zoe said she was delighted to be able to take up a vital role in the community at a time of unprecedented challenge.

“I feel really lucky that the council has given me this opportunity to be redeployed to another essential job - I know a lot of people don’t have that opportunity so I thought it would be best to help where I can to try and keep everything running smoothly and as normal as possible.”

Zoe urged other Pembrokeshire County Council employees to take up other roles if possible and help fight the impact of coronavirus.

“I would say definitely take this opportunity while it’s there. The community really does need the help at this time - whether it’s on waste collecting, doing care work, etc these are all key jobs that help Pembrokeshire run smoothly and contribute to the community.

“We are all DBS checked and health and safety trained so we are perfect candidates to bring our skills to other work places;

“It is also beneficial for us as we get to have more work experience in other fields and hopefully this will all be over before we know it.”