A BIZARRE challenge in which two volunteers are locked inside a perspex box for five days in a North-East shopping centre will get under way next month.

Wearing only a T-shirt and shorts, the pair will be locked up in the MetroCentre, armed with a phone box, a BT phone book and £1,500 each, then asked to compete in a series of daily challenges to find articles using the directory.

The David Blaine-inspired stunt will get under way on Tuesday, September 7, with a Century Radio phone-in to decide the winner at the end of the week.

The winner will keep all the items he or she has obtained during their time in the box, while the loser's goods will be donated to the 21st Century Kids charity.

The contest is the first of nine Living by the Book events staged by BT around the country to promote its new phone book.

Anyone who wants to swap their home for a box for a week is asked to apply online at www.100centuryfm.com or by calling 0191-556 3043