As people across Birmingham prepare for the festive season it will be 'business as usual' for some of Willmott Dixon's team who will be working around the clock to make sure that local residents have a very happy Christmas.

The emergency response team at the repairs and maintenance specialist's Birmingham based branch will be carrying out their normal duties on 25 December - but Christmas will not be altogether forgotten.

Willmott Dixon Partnerships is currently working with Birmingham City Council to repair and maintain 60,000 properties in the city. It's two contracts for the north and south of the city includes the areas of Edgbaston, Hall Green, Northfield, Selly Oak, Ladywood, Erdington, Perry Bar and Sutton Coldfield. It aims to reduce the cost of this service by £47m over the five year terms of the two contracts.

Members of Willmott Dixon's local workforce volunteered to work over the Christmas period, when many other businesses close, so that the company could continue to offer customers a fully operational service.

49 year old Keith Allen, from Erdington, has worked for Willmott Dixon for more than three years as a plumber.

This year Keith will form part of the company's emergency response team who are on call 24 hours a day to support Birmingham City Council and their customers over Christmas.

Having previously worked over the holiday season, he knows what to expect but admits that it is impossible to predict what the next job will be.

"Last year we received a lot of calls for assistance because of the snow and extremely cold weather. Mostly we tend to get called out to burst water pipes which have frozen, or to help secure a property after a burglary. Unfortunately there seem to be a lot of those over Christmas, because the thieves go for the presents people have bought. There is a lot of variety and you can end up dealing with all sorts of different problems."

Keith admits that there can be ups and downs working over the holiday season; "I don't mind working at Christmas because it feels good to help people in their time of need. You find that they tend to be much more appreciative, and more understanding when they see that you are giving up your Christmas to help them out. Sometimes they'll offer you a mince pie too! Because of the nature of my job, if I get a call I have to get there quickly because a leak can do a lot of damage in a very short period of time. Obviously you can't drink when you are on duty, so you have to avoid any festive tipples until you have finished."

He also has a warning for any elderly residents planning to go away at Christmas time.

"It's best to make sure that you let your neighbours know if you are spending a couple of days with your family somewhere else. I've been called out by the police in the past because a concerned neighbour hasn't seen her elderly neighbour for a while. It's not very nice to come home after a short break to find that your front door and locks have been replaced whilst you have been away."

Pauline Chatt, Willmott Dixon's Birmingham north branch manager, said: "For us the 25 December is just like any other normal working day, with an emergency team on call throughout Christmas Day and the rest of the festive season to make sure they can respond to any problems quickly. We operate an emergency response service 24 hours a day, and every day of the year to provide local tenants with a helping hand when they need it most."

"Although our team will be working, there's still plenty of room for a bit of Christmas cheer on the big day itself; and our shift system means that the teams will get to enjoy at least a part of the festivities with their families."

Willmott Dixon Group is one of the UK's second largest privately-owned capital works, regeneration and support services companies.

With over 158 years of experience, the company provides services within the built environment to Government, registered social landlords, local authorities and private sector clients throughout the UK.

Willmott Dixon Partnerships works within the Group to deliver support services to over 120,000 homes, 1,200 public buildings and 50 commercial properties across the UK.