In this job, it's your fingers and toes that are the first to go. Without gloves, Piers says, he'd only last five minutes and two hours at a time. "It's pretty much the maximum. Our freezer sits at minus 10 - the optimum as far as ice goes."

Which is why he's happy to dress up for the job. "I wear snow boots and thermal socks. But I also have some lovely tights. I think they're meant for mountaineering. Over those, I wear ski trousers, which, without tights, can get quite scratchy. Although really it's because I just like wearing tights!"

He uses dubbin on his gloves to keep them soft and a big jacket designed for people who work in freezers.

The ice comes by ship form Canada. "We get 180 blocks at a time, which is about 10 tons of ice in one container. It takes three weeks to get to Dover and we pay around £50 for a block."

December is the busiest time for Piers when he and his co-carver can chip away at 100 blocks a week.

The Ice Box started as a delivery cube business before the founders went to America and discovered the delights and potential of the vodka luge market. It's based in a couple of units in the New Covent Market in Vauxhall, south west London where there are three fridges: one for blocks, one for cubes and one to work in.

Piers originally studied horticulture, then worked as a landscape designer in Blackburn. When he came to visit his sister in London, seven years ago, he got a job driving and delivering cubes and sculptures for The Ice Box. "I was moving blocks around and there was this sculptor who was really under pressure. I was fascinated watching him work. My perception was it was all swans, cupids and cheesy stuff."

In fact, it's now full-size Polos, something Piers made for VW to help them advertise their air conditioning.

He starts with a raw block of ice and a chainsaw. "It removes the largest quantity of ice in the shortest time" he says. He imagines that his skills might be transferable to stone, although he prefers working with ice because it's so much quicker. His toolbox contains sanders, drills, irons and a blow torch.

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