AN EAST Lancashire firefighter blazed her way on to the small screen when she fought to survive primitive conditions.

Erika Crockford, of Commercial Street, Oswaldtwistle, spent a weekend in a remote part of Cyprus with only basic provisions in a survival contest between teams of hairdressers and firefighters in the BBC Two show 'Bare Necessities.'

Erika, with two other North West firefighters and three Manchester hairdressers, had to build shelters, turn a rabbit into dinner, abseil and try rafting while watched by a panel of survival experts and a camera crew.

All the teams were given were two torches, a cooking pot, three mugs, a length of string, a couple of matches and a knife. Each team could also choose three luxuries, with the firefighters selecting a plastic sheet, Brasso wadding and insect repellent.

Mother-of-one Erika said she carefully studied the Brasso tin and realised that the ingredients were highly flammable. By dismantling one of the torches and removing the bulb carefully her team were able to light the wadding using the filament as the ignition source.

Erika, 31, who works at the Euxton training centre, Chorley, said she didn't even like camping and missed her bath most of all, but loved the team spirit and the challenges.

She said: " I was worried about being cold in the night, so I made sure I was sleeping in between my male team mates. The best part was when we abseiled down a cliff into the sea, but the worst was eating snails for breakfast. They were crawling all over the plate. We tried frying them and accidentally set fire to them, so then we boiled them.

"They were definitely cooked, but they were disgusting. We had to cut the tops off the shells and suck them out with all the grit and earth and goo.

"I enjoyed the experience but I won't be doing it again."

Joanna Ball, the programme's producer, said: "The firefighters displayed excellent team work and played everything by the rules. The hairdressers cheated and fought like mad but struggled through. I think they will all be able to dine out on their stories for years."

The programme will be screened this evening at 8pm. on BBC Two.

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