Want Newport news straight to your inbox? Sign up to our newsletter! Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Shoppers at a 24-hour Tesco are being greeted by the sight of a woman living in a tiny perspex box for the next few days.

Amanda Cullen, 45, has agreed to be locked inside the two by three metre box at the Tesco Extra store on Spytty Rd in Newport to raise awareness of autism.

All money raised will go to national charity Caudwell Children which supports children with the condition.

Amanda, who works in the dot.com department at the store, entered the box at midday on Thursday, September 29 and will not leave until 2pm on Saturday.

"I've never done anything like this before"

Amanda said: “Autism is one of the country’s most prevalent disabilities with 133,500 children currently diagnosed with the condition in the UK.

“That’s a staggering number and yet many people, including myself, have little or no understanding of the disability.

“The charity approached the store to see if they would be interested in doing it.

“All the volunteers names were put into a pot and mine was the one that was selected.”

Originally from Carmarthen, Amanda will not be allowed any electrical devices in the box.

Her prison is large enough for her to stand and she will be allowed a 10 minute break every three hours to use the toilet.

She said: “I’ve never done anything like this before so it will be really interesting to see how I react being in the full gaze of the public, with nowhere to hide and being stared at by thousands of shoppers.

"I am a little uneasy about shoppers taking pictures of me while I'm asleep"

“Out of habit I only get three-four hours sleep a night so the fact that we are a 24 hour store shouldn’t be a barrier to me completing the challenge.

“However, I am a little uneasy about shoppers taking pictures of me whilst I’m asleep, though they can take as many pictures of me as they like when I’m awake.”

She added: “People have told me that it can be a lonely place when your child is diagnosed on the autistic spectrum.

“I’m hoping that parents of children with the condition come into the store and tell me about their experiences.”

You can support Amanda through a Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/TESCOSPYTTY

You can also make a text donation by texting: SPYT64 £amount 70070.