Crime scenes are teeming with police officers and forensic experts in the immediate aftermath of a major incident.
But what’s not often considered is what happens when all the evidence has been collected – and the grisly mess has to all be cleared up.
That’s where a team of extreme cleaners step in, with JMD Extreme Clean clearing up some of the most grim crime scenes in Scotland.
They include houses where murders have taken place, as well as drug dens that are filled with dangerous needles.
JMD Extreme Clean are responsible for clearing up some of the most grisly crime scenes in Scotland. Pictured is a blood-stained sofa
The team of cleaners, who are faced with some grim sights, are experts at cleaning up blood
Photographs show the horrifying scenes they have cleaned up in the past – including blood-stained sofas and mattresses, as well as a bathroom filled with piles of waste.
It’s not only crime scenes that they clear up, with the team often called in when someone has died alone in their house.
Speaking to the Daily Record, JMD Extreme Clean’s Julie McHugh, 52, from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, said: ‘I moved into crime scene cleaning in 2011. I knew it was something I wanted to do and enjoyed doing.’
She and her partner Martha Brady, 58, who work alongside Julie’s daughter, Debyn, explained how they both have their area of expertise during the clean-up process.
The extreme cleaning team, run by Julie McHugh, 52, and Martha Brady, 58, also clear up needle-filled drug dens
Another photograph of a previous crime scene they’ve cleaned up is a rubbish filled bathroom
Business partners Martha Brady (far left) and Julie McHugh (centre), work alongside Julie’s daughter Debyn
‘Julie is an expert with faeces. I’m good with blood. When we’re done you would never know there was anything the matter with the place,’ Martha explained.
She added that it is a ‘high-risk job’, particularly when needles are involved – with drug users often hiding needles in a bid to catch police officers out.
Despite the gruesome nature of the job, both Julie and Martha say it can be highly rewarding, particularly in cases when a relative has died.
Martha said: ‘In many jobs we deal with, especially a suicide or a death, people are so grateful we are taking it out of their hands and they don’t have to deal with it.’
Julie explained how she moved into crime scene cleaning in 2011, explaining she ‘knew it was something she wanted to do’
Despite the gruesome nature of the job, both Julie and Martha say it can be highly rewarding
The team do not just deal with crime scenes, but are also called in when someone has died unexpectedly at home
The cleaners explain that it is a ‘high risk’ job, with drug users often hiding needles in a bid to catch police officers out
Martha (far left) explained that they each have their own area of expertise, explaining that Jule is an ‘expert with faeces’ while she’s ‘good with blood’