It's the perfect job for a layabout.

The position requires no more than lazing around on a comfortable settee for a week, being served food and drink whenever you want.

The only snag is the successful applicant will be doing it in the window of a bar in Newcastle.

The Lounge bar/club in Neville Street is looking for a couch potato to spend a week lying around in the run-up to the venue's fourth birthday.

The man, or woman, will take up their position from next Friday and not be allowed off the settee until November 14, the night of The Lounge's birthday party.

During the week, they'll be provided with food from the bar menu, drink and a short break every hour which can be "stacked up" to make a longer break.

The job promises to be a lot more comfortable than David Blane's headline-making confinement in a box suspended over the Thames. The sofa is being provided by North-East furniture company Hepple, which produces handmade sofas from its based in Hexham.

The Lounge manager Barry Wilson said: "We just thought it would be bit of fun and it would give someone a great week."

He plans to have a webcam at The Lounge so people at home can watch action on the sofa 24 hours a day.

Anyone interested in taking up position on the settee - with a special prize on offer at the end of the week - is asked to write to Barry, at The Lounge, Neville Street, Newcastle or ring 0191 261 2211.