A 68-year-old who is living on £1 a day has succeeded by eating Asian gruel every day for breakfast.

David Garcia, who is taking part in a five-day challenge to help people escape the poverty trap, has eaten congee, a rice type gruel popular in Asia, every day.

For lunch he had a value meat sandwich and said he was getting used to the taste.

He said: “It was never going to be much of a challenge to survive on £1 a day.

“The challenge for me is to eat in a way I’d be happy to eat for the rest of my life.”

But constraints on his social life saw him swap night out with a pal for fish and chips with an evening at home to eat a potato tortilla and a slice of bread.

He said: “It made me realise how much living on a budget limits your social life.”

The Richmond man is raising funds for Tzedek – a charity that promotes sustainable development and education to help people escape poverty.

He said: “I see some people have donated very generously.

“I’ve been knocked out by the generosity shown and would like to thank each and every donor.”

To sponsor Mr Garcia, visit his fundraising page.