A Teddington man who is swapping chocolate for porridge, rice and beans said he is "daunted by the thought."

Will Torrent is a pastry and chocolate consultant but will be moving to a more simple diet for five days in an effort to raise money to help beat hunger and poverty.

"My working life usually involves creating and tasting lots of tempting treats and obviously I enjoy them - who wouldn’t," he said.

"But I’m determined to do this challenge, because there are many people around the world - like Nida from Pakistan - for whom this sort of limited diet is a daily reality."

Mother-of-four Nida works an 11-hour day to try to support her family but still can’t give them more than a small and monotonous diet. She can’t afford school fees and the family is forced to live alongside her community’s uncollected rubbish, which causes disease.

Until May 17, all sponsorship money donated through the Mean Bean Challenge will be doubled by the government, up to £3 million.

Money raised will help set up waste recycling hubs in some of Pakistan's poorest slum communities.

These hubs will help tackle waste and plastic pollution, provide sustainable livelihoods and improve people’s health and living conditions.

Mr Torrent’s fellow Tearfund ambassador, baker Tom Herbert, inspired him to take the plunge.

"Tom told me mutual support is invaluable when you’re taking a challenge like this," he said.

"Beaners are better together, it seems, so I’ll be asking my friends and family to encourage me, and who knows - maybe one or two of them will even take part.

"Taking this challenge through Tearfund means joining together with others and getting our fundraising matched by the UK Government, so it’s an effective way for us to do what we can to help lift people out of poverty."