Moaning and groaning, scaring the living daylights out of people and drenching yourself in tomato ketchup and talcum powder.

Not the usual requirements for a £30,000-a-year job - but not every company wants their staff chasing people around dimly lit corridors as a zombie-for-hire.

Today, 26-year-old Jeremiah O'Connor, from Barnes, scared off more than 60 job rivals by dressing as the undead and performing zombie-esque tasks for bosses at the London Bridge Experience, who were looking for two “zombies - dead or alive”.

But far from being a dead-end job for the part-time waiter - he will use the gruesome gig as a perfect platform to help him fulfil his acting ambitions.

Mr O’Connor, of Verdun Road, said: “It’s not like any job I’ve had before and it should be good fun.

“It beats part-time waiting.”

The drama school graduate arrived at the £3m attraction on Thursday in casual clothes but a quick stop-off in a pay machine toilet saw the mild-mannered Irishman transform into a frightful creature from beyond the grave.

“I think I probably scared a few people waiting in the queue,” Mr O’Connor said.

“I had old suit trousers and tore one of the legs off, I put on a white shirt and tie and a brown jacket before pouring tomato sauce all over myself and pouring talcum powder on top to make me look dusty.”

In front of a panel of judges, wannabe-zombies had to demonstrate their ability to terrify customers in the catacombs including pretending to rise from the dead, running up to people and stopping within an inch of their nose without hitting them and finding nooks and crannies to hide in before jumping out and scaring passing visitors.

The former archaeologist explained: “You just throw your all into it and just be totally into the part.

“I tried not to be conscious of the fact I was failing around like a fool.

“I am sure after the first week I will be totally exhausted - I will actually be the walking dead when I finish work.”

But Mr O’Connor does not plan on playing dead forever and hopes the job will act as a launchpad for work in the theatre and on TV.

He added: “I can’t be a 40-year-old father of two working everyday as a zombie.”