TEA, coffee and chairs seem to be the things people are missing most on their survival challenge.

And a dog ran off with a leg of venison which was a bit of a disaster.

But the 11 good sports on I'm NOT a Celebrity and I've GOT to Stay There are finding life in the open surprisingly comfortable.

The victims are camping out in Moors Valley Country Park, courtesy of the Forestry Commission to raise funds for The Anthony Nolan Trust which facilitates bone marrow transplants for leukaemia patients.

They are all sleeping well in their primitive shelters - all open to the elements and to the full moon on one side, but heavily insulated with bracken.

One shelter even has a veranda in a bid for gracious living, rigged up by practical Steve Penney from Bournemouth. Steve is a veteran of TV gameshow Blind Date - he wasn't chosen that time but perhaps he should have been.

Some of the food has been a problem - they did not enjoy biting the heads off some bugs or the silkworms which "burst on your teeth".

But on the whole it's been positive.

Steve said: "I don't eat venison, rabbit or trout. I'm a fussy eater and I thought 'no way', but yeah, I have enjoyed it."

Lesley Wrann from Lymington said: "Simple food has become delicious."

James Coakes from Ringwood said: "Little things mean a lot. The sweet I have got in my pocket, I have been looking forward to it all morning and it's only a boiled sweet."

Caroline Tillet from Diss in Norfolk, who survived a gruelling cycle ride down the Nile last year, said: "I love it - I just like being challenged and you're just learning something every day."

Caroline has found she's really competitive and her team-mates Steve, James and Lesley have benefited from that.

Under her leadership they won the orienteering competition and they shared a handsome prize - one Bounty bar.

The five-day endurance test ends tonight with an award ceremony at the Queens Hotel, Bournemouth.

First published: October 1