MAGICIAN David Blaine was the inspiration behind a stunt in which two fearless firefighters spent 50 hours trapped inside a drill tower.

Retained firefighters Phil Gardner, 44, and Byron Entwistle, 20, both from Padiham, spent more than two days inside the dark tower.

The pair put up with two sleepless nights to raise money for Booth Hall and the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital at Pendlebury and the Fire Service Benevolent Fund.

They were given only water when they arrived at the tower at noon on Friday and relied on donations of food to see them through to their descent yesterday at 2pm.

Phil, a stock controller, and Byron, a lifeguard, said it was tough but worth the challenge.

Phil, who is married to Kathryn and has two children Peter, 21, and Keiron, 17, said: "The lads are quite proud of us deep down, I think. They are used to my daft stunts now.

"The idea was taken from David Blaine and the things that he does. We wanted to do something a bit different. It's quite a small space and there was hardly enough room to lie down, so it got quite uncomfortable.

"We were able to move up and down inside the tower so we could see people in the outside world, but the only reason we were allowed out was for personal reasons, to use the facilities. The tower is one of the tallest in Lancashire so the views are beautiful."

Byron added: "It's been great. We were a bit worried about going hungry but people have been to the chippy for us and some children baked us jam tarts, which were delicious."

The descent on Sunday was timed to coincide with Padiham Walking Day.

A fun day was held at the fire station which culminated in a visit from Mike Painter, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service's area commander.

Phil added: "It's a real honour to recieve a visit from the area commander. It's not something that happens every day."

Pair's towering ordeal