A campaigning mum who has swapped iPhones and iPads for 50 hours locked in a box for charity has urged others to do the same.
Lisa Males stepped into a 3m x 2m glass room in Beeston’s Tesco Extra yesterday and has since eaten, slept and kept herself entertained in front of thousands of shoppers.
The 35-year-old mum-of-one from Ilkeston took on the challenge as part of Caudwell Children’s Locked In For Autism campaign which has raised more than £20,000.
Lisa said her godson was her inspiration to take on the task after the charity contacted the store asking for a volunteer.
She added: “Scott is 13 and he’s on the autistic spectrum so that’s a personal reason for me.
“But it’s also a challenge for me because I’m not used to being the centre of attention. I’m not usually comfortable in situations like this but I wanted to raise more awareness of the condition.”
The wages clerk, who works at the store and will leave the box at 2pm tomorrow, said her first night locked in wasn’t as bad as she had expected.
She added: “My phone and my iPad – I don’t miss them at all, funnily.
“I have got that communication with the general public, whereas if you’re on your phone all the time you block all that off so it’s been nice to talk to people one-on-one.”
Lisa, who has almost reached her £2,000 target, said she worried about how she would adapt being away from her normal routine.
She added: “I actually had a brilliant night’s sleep. I was quite prepared to toss and turn and have very little sleep – but the night team were brilliant.
“They were checking on me – I had my eye mask on and my sleeping bag – I slept really well.”
