The girlfriend of drowsy reality TV contestant Jimmy Burke gave him a welcome wake-up call in his bid to win almost £100,000 by staying awake for seven days.

Former soldier Jimmy, from Kemp Town, Brighton, has lasted more than halfway through the task set by Channel 4 programme Shattered.

And he was rewarded when he was allowed a kiss from his partner of seven years, Lucy.

Some fellow contestants have walked out of the endurance test while others have stolen a few seconds' slumber - bringing down the possible jackpot from the maximum £100,000.

But Jimmy's friends are confident he can outlast the others and told The Argus of his tireless work helping drug-taking youngsters in Brighton and Hove.

Jimmy, 33, works as a youth counsellor with Hove YMCA, helping children aged between ten and 18 deal with drug problems.

His supporters have been suffering sleepless nights of their own, willing him to win the prize after he managed to survive a close-run elimination challenge.

Jimmy has fared among the worst in tests since the stunt began last Sunday and turned to God for strength as keeping his eyes open began to take a toll.

He has already had hallucinations and prayed he could keep going.

Two contestants have already dropped out as the urge to sleep became too much of a temptation.

But Jimmy has more experience than most, having spent three days awake digging trenches with the Army.

Jimmy's manager Carl Whalley said: "You would never catch him sleeping on the job."

Hove YMCA chief executive David Standing said: "He is absolutely full of energy but also very good at his work.

"He's a larger-than-life character and he's been really good to have around."

Before taking part in the challenge Jimmy described himself as "strong-willed and disciplined" and explained his experience with the Army should stand him in good stead.

He said: "I stayed awake for almost three days digging trenches in Germany."

A spokeswoman from the Ministry of Defence said his Army training should give him an advantage.

She said: "As he was a soldier I fancy his chances. We give trainees experience in dealing with sleep deprivation."

The drugs counsellor avoided the elimination round for Monday night's programme but could drop out of the competition any time.

The jackpot falls by £1,000 every time someone sleeps for more than ten seconds.

The prize cash dropped to £98,000 last night as contestant Dean dozed off for 12 seconds.

Contestant Lucy, 21, walked out after more than 70 hours awake following consultations with the Channel 4 show's psychologists.

She became the third of the ten initial contestants to depart.

Experts estimate three in four people suffer a lack of sleep. Here are the typical symptoms if sleeplessness extends over days:

After losing just a night's sleep it will take twice as long to react to any situation.

It will be more difficult to remember things in the short-term but you will still be able to get through the day.

A second day of sleeplessness will result in finding it hard to chat.

Drastic physical effects can be seen on day three. Hallucinations are common as people slip into waking dreams and can develop a temper.

Hallucinations become much worse on day four. On day five, people will feel freezing cold.