A food lover is giving up gorging on grub for a week when he tries to live on £1 a day to campaign against poverty.

David Garcia, from Richmond, was challenged by poverty campaigners to live for five days on the internationally-agreed poverty limit of £1 per day.

The 68-year-old, who is known to his friends as the anaconda because he eats lots and falls asleep, hopes the five day feat will help raise awareness against poverty.

He said: “I think I will survive on basic stuff like rice, lentils and pasta. If I have any money left over I might buy a small piece of ham that I can chop up and add a little bit of taste.

“I don’t expect I’ll be doing much shopping in Waitrose.

“As for what I’ll miss most, apart from a glass of wine, probably a juicy steak.”

As part of a national campaign, people across the world will be trying to survive on £1 a day from April 29 to May 3.

Mr Garcia said: “It is going to be boring but I’ve got no doubt that I can do it but it’s going to be tedious.

“The whole experience so far has made me obsessive about looking at prices in shops.

“I’m lucky enough to be able to go to the supermarket and pick up what I want from the shelves without having to think, within reason. I bought some beef the other day and it almost made me cry about how much it was.”

The food lover will plan his meals carefully to ensure he doesn’t go beyond his £5 budget for the week.

He said: “I’m up for it, I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to be interesting.”

Chief reporter Clare Buchanan has also pledged to take the £1-a-day challenge, go to the Richmond and Twickenham Times website from April 29 for daily updates on both their progress.

For more information on the campaign, visit livebelowtheline.com/uk.