A TYNE Valley mum is putting herself in the shoes of refugees for a week.

Christina Broadbent, from Haltwhistle, is taking on the 2020 Ration Challenge, which sees normal people try to survive for a week on the rations a refugee would be expected to survive on.

Christina will be taking on the challenge from September 13, but has already received her - rather meagre - ration pack.

She said: "The challenge has been running for years, but this year is the first I've heard of it.

"You live off the rations of a refugee for a week - now I have my ration pack, it's terrifying.

"There's not much protein in there, it's mainly just rice. For me, I can't go a day without a cup of tea, so that's going to be really tough."

The challenge runs from September 13 to September 19.

In that time, participants must only eat 420g of rice, 170g of chickpeas, 120g of tinned sardines, 400g of tinned kidney beans and 330ml of vegetable oil - the actual amount a Syrian refugee in camps in Jordan receives for a week.

Rewards can be earned for hitting fund-raising targets, while they may also eat an extra 1.5kg of rice and 400g of flour that refugees get from coupons in camps.

The challenge is designed to give people in the developed world a taste of the difficulties faced by refugees, with the emotional impact said to be said to be significant.

Christina added: "I've been reading a lot about refugees. People can spend 17 years in these camps.

"I just wanted to do something for them. This is the first time I've ever done any sort of charity work on my own."

Donations can be made in support of Christina's challenge at rationchallenge.org.uk/christina-broadbent.