"The early starts are definitely the worst thing about the job".

That's according to Bradley Harding, a 23-year-old airport security officer from Buckskin.

He spoke to the Gazette last week about being placed on furlough.

This week, we caught up with Bradley to find out about what his job is really like, behind the scenes. 

From fearing about terror threats to seeing football stars face-to-face, it is clear no two days are the same in this unusual role serving Britain's busiest airport.

Heathrow sees more than 80million passengers a year from its base in west London.

Many a Basingstokian has worked for Heathrow over the years, as it located around a half an hour's drive away from the town. 

And Bradley was no exception. He said growing up, he was always interested in security-type roles.

After speaking to his ex-manager who used to work at Heathrow Airport, he applied for the role as a security officer, and landed the job five months later. 

In an interview with Gazette, the 23-year-old said: "The employees that work there they make Heathrow what it is.

"Very friendly and a very diverse mix of people which is very interesting. To be honest it’s just some of the early hours that I struggle with.

"I'm not going to lie, it is knackering doing an early shift.

Who is going to want to wake up at 2 in the morning for a shift?"

Bradley had to get used to surviving off three to four hours of sleep during the week and works an eight to nine hour shift, with four days on. 

There are normally two late shifts starting between 12pm and 1.45pm, and two early shifts with the earliest start at 4.15am, which means Bradley has to wake up at 1.45am to go to work.

When the Gazette asked how Bradley emotionally copes with the threat of terror, the security officer said: "I don’t really think about it to be honest I just get on with my job and do the best I can possibly do.

"It doesn’t worry me as you could walk down the high street and get caught up in a terror attack at any time. It could happen anywhere to anyone."

Bradley said he looks for anyone that "looks suspicious" or is not acting "normal".

No one is allowed to record on phones or take pictures of the security area for security reasons.

Despite the long hours, Bradley bumps into celebrities like ex-footballer, Matt Le Tissier.

The celebrity was rushing through security to catch his flight, but Bradley had the chance to meet him and say hello.

But the job also involves doing regular patrols of the main concourse and carrying out months of "thorough training".

Before Bradley's shift starts, he walks through staff search security and is assigned to either be on patrols, transfers, or CSA flex, the main concourse where the majority of passengers enter.

He searches bags via X-ray screens to check there is no threats in a bag, searches passengers, helps passengers load their trays up and explains to them what needs to be removed from their luggage ready to be put through the x-ray machine.

"You always need to be watching for threats especially whilst screen reading as if something was to get on to a plane and cause harm to people we can actually be legally liable for any harm that comes to passengers.

"You never know nowadays with all the threats we face from terrorism, and airports are obviously one of the main places to carry out an attack of some sort.

"It's a very tough job and you always have to be on guard," he said.

In light of Heathrow slashing staff wages, Bradley has started a petition to stop the airport from making drastic changes to employees contracts.