A TASTE of life in the jungle came to a Herefordshire hotel when a popular reality TV show was recreated for charity.

As contestants get to grips with eating bugs and battling rodents on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, the owner of the Pilgrim Country House Hotel in Much Birch decided he would create his own challenge.

Steve Boyle produced a menu with a difference for his guests that included buffalo worm fudge, a Pilgrim insect mix including mealworms, buffalo worms, nutty crickets and locusts, and chilli chapulines, featuring chilli-flavoured Mexican grasshoppers.

Funds from the event, which lasted the duration of I'm A Celebrity which finished on Sunday, went to St Michael's Hospice.

"We all enjoy watching Ant and Dec doubling up with laughter as the hapless celebrities munch their way through witchetty grubs and other nasty-looking creatures," said Mr Boyle.

"So we thought we’d create our own ‘Pilgrim Bush Tucker Trial’ and offer our guests a chance to try it for themselves."

Those diners brave enough to taste the jungle fayre did so safe in the knowledge that 20 per cent of the takings from the menu were going to the hospice in its bid to provide palliative care to patients and their families.

"We are constantly amazed by the weird and wonderful fundraising exploits of our local community and this is one of the most unusual and fun ideas we have been involved with," said Paddy Nugent, the hospice's community fundraising manager.

"The Pilgrim’s Bush Tucker Challenge is an illustration of the generosity and creativity of the local business community.

"It also enables St Michael’s to support the local community by raising awareness of Herefordshire as being an enjoyable and welcoming holiday destination."

The hospice is currently preparing to open the first phase of its £11.2 million state-of-the-art redevelopment, which will make it possible to double the amount of care it can offer.