How a Cash-Strapped Teacher Lived on £1 a Day for a Year

And to cap it all, she found love while working as a volunteer on an organic farm during the holidays.

Miss Kelly was sharing a house in Hotwells, Bristol, when she complained to her friends over a few glasses of wine that she could not afford a wedding present for her brother Danny.

She boldly announced that she would survive on £1 a day for the 12 months up to the wedding.

'I woke up the following morning and instantly regretted it but it was too late - I'd told my friends and now I had to go through with it.'

With her rent and utility bills already paid for the year, her budget had to cover transport, food, clothes and socialising.

She soon learned to spot a bargain and after working at the English Language Centre in Clifton, where she teaches for 20 hours a week, she regularly visited super-markets and butchers at closing time to buy reduced food.

She added: 'I had a freezer full of stuff. I was out all the time with a bag on my back and if I saw bread for 10p at the end of the day, or reduced vegetables - anything - I bought it.'

Miss Kelly would hunt down market researchers in the street as they often have samples to give away.

She ditched her mobile phone and cycled to friends' houses if she wanted to speak to them, leaving a note if they were out.

She used the library for free internet access and developed a taste for mince pies - which she would stockpile at Christmas when they are given away at stores.