A man protesting against student debt completed the bizarre stunt today of rolling a monkey nut seven miles to Downing Street using only his nose.

Crawling on his hands and knees, Mark McGowan

nudged the nut over a kerb and up the steps to the famous black door of Number 10.

He began his journey at Goldsmiths College in south east London on September 1, and has covered around three-quarters of a mile per day, working in eight-hour bursts.

The 37-year-old artist from Peckham, south east London, handed the nut over to Number 10, along with a letter asking Prime Minister Tony Blair to accept it as payment for his student debt.

Mr McGowan, who was wearing a grubby plaster on the tip of his nose, was applauded by a nearby policeman as he finished his task and was handed a mug of tea from inside the building.

He said afterwards: "I'm a bit tired. I'm a bit emotional that it's all over. I'm going to have a bath now.

"It's been a long two weeks. Sometimes I thought I was going to give up. It was really hard. My knee caps are in a terrible state."

He added: "I want them to bring back student grants. Hopefully, I made my point."

Describing his journey, he said: "The streets were dirty. There was hair and spit and bird poo. There were unmentionable things."

Both Number 10 and the Department for Education and Skills have confirmed in letters that they will not be accepting the nut as payment, although the DfES said it would be a "remarkable achievement" if he made it, according to Mr McGowan.

This is not the first time Mr McGowan, who is due to begin a second degree, in History of Art, at Goldsmiths in October, has undertaken such a venture.

He once rolled himself across London for four-and-a-half miles singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas to highlight the work of office cleaners.

Another performance aroused the wrath of Lord Harris of Haringey, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority. Mr McGowan dressed up as a constable and invited visitors to Clapham Art Gallery to hit him with his truncheon.

He has also walked for 11 miles around south and central London with a 27lb turkey strapped to his head, aiming to persuade people to eat less and cut obesity rates.

He has yet to plan his next project, but said he would probably come up with something in the near future.