Shirts, jackets, skirts, trousers - all are common items of clothing in the workplace.

Less so are heated waistcoats. But this is exactly what Mark Christmas wears when he heads out on a job during the colder months of the year.

"You plug it into the bike battery and it really keeps you warm, " he says.

For Mark is a motorcycle courier. He spends his days travelling up and down the country, delivering important packages that need to be taken from A to B with minimal risk of loss.

"You can get heated socks, gloves, trousers and all sorts to keep you warm on your bike, " he adds. "And I have an RAF-issue suit made to withstand temperatures as cold as -35C."

A qualified motorcycle instructor, Mark, 38, works for Brighouse-based BD Logistics. He makes trips throughout Britain, regularly travelling to London and other cites including Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Getting to a destination on time can be stressful, although less so than making the journey by van, which he drives on jobs involving more bulky items.

"On the bike we are able to filter through traffic. I have filtered for quite long distances. I once went from Brighouse to Stoke, and another time from Bristol via Birmingham to Knutsford services. It is so much quicker than travel by car or van, and when I'm not on the bike I find hold-ups and jams very frustrating."

But it is not relaxing: "You need to have your wits about you. If a vehicle suddenly decides to change lanes and you are travelling at 50mph, you have to be on your toes to avoid it.

"Some drivers just don't care. There is very little courtesy toward other road-users."

Most of the packages he takes contain important documents such as contracts that need to be signed for business deals, architectural plans or urgent reports.

Mark, who learned to ride a motorcycle aged 15, now rides his own Yamaha RI 1000.

The van business - which concentrates on delivering van and truck parts - is run by Mark's partner Michelle and his sister Susan.

"Once I was going on the bike to Bristol and Michelle was on her way to Kettering in the van.

There was an accident on the M1 and she cut across and I met her on the M6."

Amechanic by trade, Mark, who lives in Brighouse, also helps to run the motorcycle repair side of the business in the firm's workshop.

Before joining the company he was in the Army, serving in Germany, Cyprus and Bosnia, and worked on everything from small generators to Challenger tanks. He enjoyed travelling, a legacy that has left him in love with the open road.

"I would sooner be out on the bike than in the workshop every day, " he says.

Couriers are employed on a freelance basis and, with enough work, they can earn a decent living.

"Just under 1,000 miles a day can bring in around £300 to £400, and with a couple of 500mile trips you can earn around £200, " Mark says.

He does not relish travelling into London.

"I hate it - I get the quivers.

You have to be very careful and watch out for the congestion charge zones."

The father-of-three is happy in his work. His son James, 18, who lives in Hampshire, is following in his footsteps and has already got himself a bike licence. And his youngest son Dylan, just three, has been bitten by the bike bug and has a little quad bike.