Mansfield vicar two weeks into his 40-day fast

Rev Hebden, of St Mark’s Church, Nottingham Road, is surviving purely on a diet of fruit juice.

The national drive aims to highlight the issue of food poverty and the rise in food banks, and comes after forty-three Christian leaders, including 27 Anglican bishops, signed a letter urging Prime Minister David Cameron to ensure people get enough to eat.

Said Keith: “I feel great in the mornings but worn out in the evenings.

“I am now a third of the way through and it feels like I have lost sight of the shore on both sides.

“It feels more intimidating now than to begin as I am in deeper water.”

But Keith assured Chad that his ordeal was safe as he was having regular GP check-ups and had sought advice from a nutritionist.

He added: “There is a man on the Bellamy Estate who has lost all his benefits and is now in his house without any food.

“He has no publicity but genuinely does not know where his next meal is coming from.

“If I get to 6pm and think ‘I cannot do this anymore,’ I just think ‘this is nothing - others do not know where their next meal is coming from.’”

Another big source of comfort for Rev Hebden comes from his family.

“My wife is very supportive and proud because she sees the importance of the campaign,” he said.

For more details on the End Hunger Fast campaign, go to www.church-poverty.org.uk/endhungerfast.