“A sweep is as lucky, as lucky as can be,” sang Dick Van Dyke in his embarrassing cockney accent in the movie Mary Poppins. But the Dickensian image of the chimney sweep’s world portrayed by the multi-talented Van Dyke is changing.

Chimney sweeps are in demand, and not just because of the success of the West End musical version of the Disney classic (below). Across the nation, middle class homeowners have renovated their chimneys and are using them to add a touch of homely warmth. So the National Association of Chimney Sweeps has created a government-approved NVQ course at its training centre in Staffordshire to encourage more people to join the trade.

Let’s just hope they don’t train them to speak in Van Dyke’s atrocious cockney accent.