Canterbury student lives on just £1 a day for Christian Aid

CIGARETTES, alcohol and cheese are among the luxuries student Helena Barber is missing this week. She started a tough endurance challenge for a poverty charity on Monday.

Helena, 19, who is in the first year of a tourism management degree at Canterbury Christ Church University, is trying to survive on just £1 a day for five days to learn what life is like below the breadline.

She has joined others around the world in Christian Aid's Live Below The Line challenge which runs until Monday.

She said: "I thought it was a really good thing to do. It is different and will hopefully capture people's imaginations.

"I smoke and drink so it will be hard not to have a social life for a few days. The worst thing will be cutting out cheese.

"But all my problems are first world problems so it should open my mind to how much I take things for granted and what life is like in the third world."

Helena, who also works as a tour guide at Shepherd Neame's Faversham brewery, has been scouring supermarkets for the cheapest deals to help her stretch her £5 budget.

To help Helena reach her fundraising target of £1,000, donate online at www.livebelowtheline.com/me/helenabarber