A furniture maker has been advised that he should put down his broom in favour of an industrial vacuum by concerned health and safety bosses.

Michael Northcroft, 63, said he was encouraged to no longer sweep the floor of his factory as it could cause serious harm to his 10 workers.

Mr Northcroft, whose furniture is used by a variety of celebrities, was told by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) that the sweeping of sawdust exposed his employees to "a substance hazardous to health, namely airborne wood dust".

The defiant 63-year-old called the advice "a load of rubbish" and said he plans to continue to sweep his factory in Leyton, east London, as opposed to using an industrial vacuum.

"It's a load of rubbish. My message to the health and safety executives is 'sorry, I'm not doing it. The broom stays'," he said in an interview with the Sun.

"I've been managing factories for over 40 years and never have I come across such a joke.

"This isn't something I can choose to do or not do. I've been told I have to ban the use of dry-sweeping and must confirm with them by a particular date that I've complied with their requirements.