Under the ocean waves

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), May 27, 2006

Byline: By Gareth Deighan

By Day he's in at the deep end working as a doctor in a busy accident and emergency unit ( but once out of his white coat, Ben Burville really takes a plunge.

Sitting down for a civilised cup of tea in a pub near his Morpeth home, Ben explains.

"I started diving as soon as I could. My parents were into diving, so as soon as I could walk ( or even before ( I was in the water and I've not stopped.

"I've dived all over the world, and what I really enjoy doing is diving with wildlife. It is so relaxing down there. There aren't the sounds or the hurly-burly of the world above and everyday life. I really enjoy it."

Ben, 37, is a doctor at the Royal Victoria Infirmary hospital in Newcastle, where he has been for the last few years.

When studying medicine at Sheffield University he met his wife, Kirsty, 26. She was training to be a teacher before the pair moved to the North East in 2003.

And the reason? Seals.

"Kirsty is Scottish so there was a double reason to move up here. It's closer to her family and it is near to the Farne Islands, which have a huge population of common seals in water that is really brilliant to dive in.

"So up we came and now we love it here. We are both enjoying our jobs and we are very close to the Farnes ( which is great."

Ben was asked to take part in the project after helping out the BBC behind the camera as an expert on seals and was shocked when they rang him to take part in the new series of Springwatch.

He said: "I thought someone was winding me up, to be honest. I'm not used to getting calls from the BBC, so when they rang I genuinely thought it was some kind of joke.

"After a while, though, I realised and I was pretty excited about it. We went up to the Farnes in September and did a couple of dives in which I showed them what I do up there and what I see.

"I think it turned out OK. At least I hope it did. I just love diving and swimming with the seals so it was great. Another excuse to go up there and swim with them."

Being a doctor, though, Ben says he does find it difficult to go diving as much as he would like. He said: "I go up as often as I can when I'm not working.

"It doesn't take too long to get up there so when I'm not working I go up there. I have a friend who has a boat at the Farnes all of the time and if something looks like it is happening then he gives me a ring and I shoot up there.

"Obviously not when I'm working ( that would be ridiculous ( but sometimes when I get a call I do wish I could drop everything and go, but I guess everyone is the same with whatever hobby they do."

Talking to Ben about his hobby it is clear his passion for the sport runs deep, and it is also clear he is a man who knows what he is talking about.

"I've seen some amazing things over the years and a lot of them have been at the Farnes. The seals up there are more than happy to come and play with you if you know what you are doing.

"You have to be calm with them and let them come to you ( which they will ( and once the realise you're not a threat, they'll play with you while you're in the water.

"People, other divers, don't believe me but I have had one seal grabbing one hand and another grabbing my other hand. One time I even threw things for a seal and he brought it back.

"That's why I bought the underwater camera, to show people just how close they come.

"They are really intelligent creatures and, like I say, being down there with them is so relaxing."

While at university Ben taught his wife to dive and she too now has the bug, although Ben is the first to admit it does not run as deep.

Ben said: "Kirsty goes up to the Farnes more during the summer than the winter, when the light is with us for longer, but with her I have seen some fantastic things as well.

"We went diving with whales once and we saw one swim right past us. I didn't think about it at the time, but looking back it was very scary thing to do ( but I'm glad I've done it.

"When I taught Kirsty to dive it was in England, while we were in Sheffield, and I think she wondered what the big deal was. You could hardly see anything in the water and what you could see wasn't too interesting.

"But I told her to wait and see, and once she learned we went to places all over the world and the Farnes and then I think she saw why I loved to dive so much."

Despite having such a passion, though, Ben is not one to share it with everyone he meets.

He says he does not speak about his hobby much while at work and, though he has countless underwater pictures of seals at the Farnes, hasn't shown them to his work colleagues.

"I haven't really told the people I work with about the diving. A few of them know I do it but it is not a topic of conversation every day.

"It just hasn't come up. But I think it might after being on Springwatch."

The BBC's Springwatch will be presented by Bill Oddie (pictured) and Kate Humble and hits our screen on Monday.

Bill and Kate will reveal how this year's weather has affected some of Britain's favourite wild creatures, including nesting birds and other wild residents.