ELEVEN Civil Defence volunteers have signed up to undertake a gruelling Winter Survival Adventure Weekend which starts tonight (Friday).

Extreme survival trainers from Leeds based Sneaky Beaky Adventures Limited have been brought to the Island by the Isle of Man Civil Defence Association with support from the Department of Home Affairs.

Civil Defence team leader Andrew Foxon said: "It will be a cross between I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and Ray Mears.

"There will be moving at night, navigation, bushcraft and survival skills with a number of challenges and surprises in the middle of February in the Manx hills.

"It doesn't matter if the weather isn't bad because they will be getting wet anyway.

"It's about helping people develop their inner resources for survival in different situations.

"The aim is to provide people with a range of personal and team challenges.

"They will be taken out of their comfort zones and have to draw on their inner personal resources as well as working together to meet those challenges."

The event, which starts at 7pm tonight and continues until 4pm on Sunday, will be based around Ard Whallan outdoor education centre, West Baldwin.

The Civil Defence Association has expressed its gratitude to the Department of Education and Children for the use of the building plus DEC's head of outdoor centres Paul Melling who is assisting with some of the exercises.

Additionally, the association thanked the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture and the IoM Water and Sewerage Authority for access to land.

The 11 Civil Defence volunteers taking part in the adventure weekend are Nigel Smith, John Callow, Svetlin Krastev, Jim Macgregor, Linda Gilpin, Micky Pickett, Lynne Hadman, John Turner, Pete Donnellan, Brian Crebbin and Allison Fox.