HUNGRY fundraisers loosened their belts and tucked into 5ft long pieces of cheese to raise money for a four-year-old with a rare condition.

Customers at Emmi and Iggs in Worthing took a deep breathe before wading into the huge cheese straws for a fundraising appeal to help little four-year-old Alexander Lester.

The Worthing youngster has a rare metabolic condition and requires a wheelchair and constant support in all areas of his life.

His parents Kirsty, 35, and Jon, 33, need to find £100,000 to carry out special adaptations to his home to make it more accessible for him.

Plasterer Gary Crane, 27, prepared for the challenge by not eating anything all day and ended up being the first to finish in just 15 minutes.

He said: “I feel very full right now. I might be ready for a bit of dinner later on but it certainly won’t be a cheese straw.”

Second to finish was James Dickson, 10 minutes later.

Mr Dickson, 35, who works at an upholstery warehouse, said: “I was very ready. I’ve been training

for this for the last two years by eating one a day.”

Arlene Avery, a care assistant, said: “I may never eat another cheese straw again.”

They began eating at 3.30pm and started off eagerly, but gradually started to slow as they went on.

Interspersed with drinks of water, some also asked for sauces to help them finish off.

The money is being raised for work on Alexander's home which includes widening the front door, building an extension to make room for a specialist bed and bath and installing a lift so his parents can move him from one floor to the other more easily.

Alexander and his mum came along for the challenge at the sandwich bar yesterday to cheer everyone on.

Mrs Lester said: “We are so grateful to the café for doing this for us. It’s a great idea and a lot of fun although that is a lot of cheese straw for people to eat.”

The team at Emmi and Iggs in Lyndhurst Road, Worthing, cooked special five foot long versions of their popular cheese straws and invited the customers to eat one all in one go.

Jo McCaffrey from Emmi and Iggs, who used 3kg of cheese for the straws, said: “Our cheese straws are very popular and someone said to us we should do a challenge with them.

“We knew about the appeal for Alexander and we know the family have been working really hard to raise the money needed.

“We came up with this idea and found the volunteers willing to take on the challenge to help them with the final push.

“I’ve had to make the cheese straws into a spiral to make room for them in the oven but we’re pleased with the result."

The challenge is expected to raise hundreds of pounds for Alexander’s appeal.