A CHEF has the found the perfect way to get to work and beat the rush-hour blues -- he goes by boat!

Murray Robertson, 31, stunned regulars at the Albion pub, in Whalley Road, Clayton-le-Moors, when he turned up for his first day at the job complete with oars.

He lives on a canal boat in Hapton and simply jumps into his tiny rowing boat for the 25 minute journey to the pub on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

Murray said: "It's absolutely perfect for me. I'm never sitting in a traffic jam and I don't get road rage. And I never have trouble finding a parking space." The boat man was born in Burnley but has lived in Switzerland for most of his life.

But he isn't bringing a taste of the Alps to the boozer -- because his mum won't give him any of her recipes.

He doesn't often get the chance to cook for himself on his canal boat, which he heats with an old-fashioned coal and wood stove and a small solar panel.

Visitors have to find their way through an overgrown wood , past some chickens and climb down a 15ft ladder to get to his elusive home.

Murray's talents also extend to the arts.

He plays his favourite Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa songs on his electric guitar through an old radio on his boat.

He said: "It all started when I was working as a washer-upper at Mama Mia's Italian restaurant in Padiham.

"When the chef went away on holiday I took over and realised cooking was for me. I chose to live like this on purpose because it's quiet and not as chaotic as the town.

"It's wonderful in the morning seeing the birds and squirrels. I love nature. My favourite food is venison. I don't suppose I'll be cooking it because there's not a lot of it in Clayton.

"Instead, I will be cooking Italian food. But I won't be cooking my favourite Swiss dish Rosti, made with potatoes with bacon, unless I get the recipe from my mum in Switzerland."

Murray says his lifestyle will eventually have to change, because his girlfriend Nicola Spencer, 25, is not quite as keen on canal life.

"The boat can get a bit damp and if I don't heat it for a week it gets mouldy, so we often have to stay at Nicola's place nearby," he admitted. He has also decided to take up the offer of pub landlord John Burke, 35, who said he could moor the boat next to the pub.

"I don't know what it will be like living there," he said.

"I might hear some of the clientele complaining about my food but I suppose it will be more secure -- and I won't have as far to travel to work.

"Who knows what the future will hold?

"I may take up my art again and one day I might even move into a flat on dry land."