Yes, I ate the worms - and the woodlice

The 26-year-old's most adventurous pursuit to date has been scuba diving.

But he decided to pit his wits against nature after reading an article in the Telegraph & Argus appealing for people to take part in a new TV series. And he was eventually selected, along with five others, from 500 contenders.

First they underwent a week of training with survival expert Andy Lane before being taken to a mystery location in Wales for a further week where they had to live off the land.

They had to build a shelter and forage for food without using modern equipment and their performance was measured using a points system.

They gained points for doing anything the way our forefathers did thousands of years ago, but lost them if they took anything from a tempting treasure chest packed with food and equipment.

Their exploits will be shown over six weeks in BBC2's Country Tracks Survival Challenge.

Nick said: "The training was great, but it was a shock to be left just in the clothes we were standing in. We kept our spirits up by building a shelter and everyone kept cracking jokes.

"We didn't make a habit of eating worms and woodlice, but we did it.

"Worms didn't taste of anything but you have to have the right psychological approach to eating them. And I ate the woodlice cold and crunched them quickly so I didn't feel them wriggle."

But a real treat for the group was a rabbit caught in a snare. "It didn't last long - we were so hungry, we wolfed it down," he added.

Survival producer Paul Newman said: "They passed with flying colours. At the end they were still laughing and joking and looking for new ways to tackle problems. If they ever found themselves in a real survival situation, I am confident they could keep going."

The adventure will be screened on BBC2 on Fridays at 8pm starting on September 4.

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