NO-ONE has beaten the The Swan's Man versus Food hotdog challenge so we sent the office gannet Adam Smith to try and eat his way into the record books.

Forty men and one woman have tried The Swan Man versus Food challenge. No-one has beaten the clock, some have come close but the food has always won.

The challenge is based on the wildly popular American TV show Man v Food starring Adam Richman who took on all plates and dishes across the world before being forced to cancel the show for the sake of his health.

Each contestant is given 20 minutes to eat a metre long hotdog and a plate of fries and as they were the delivered the size of the task became apparent.

I'd worked up an appetite by fasting from midday and four hours later the stopwatch was started and I started chomping my way through a hotdog bigger than the average child.

After five minutes I was already behind my schedule, I was not close to being a quarter way through the feast. I had made the classic mistake of actually savouring every bite when I clearly should have been shovelling it into my mouth.

My excuse is the sausage was lovely and locally sourced from Crown Butchers down the road in Stourbridge.

Three clock watching minutes later I was becoming bloated and looked at the specials board which included duck spring rolls, various anti-pasti and chocolate tart and began daydreaming about eating those instead of the hotdog in front of me.

After ten minutes I let out a burp that was probably heard in Wollaston and after fifteen minutes every mouthful was struggle.

After 18 minutes I gave up and just stared out the window looking and feeling like a beaten man as my body told me I was going to be in for a long night.

The staff at the Hagley Road pub smiled as they took the remaining food away, another contestant beaten by the sausage.

Jonathan Bishop, manager of the Swan, said: "We have had all sorts come in here trying to beat the challenge, everyone from the police to rugby teams but no-one has managed to do it yet.

"We had a fellow who just had one mouthful of fries to eat with a minute to go but he just could not do it, so we are still unbeaten."

He added: "We had another guy who finished the hotdog in eight minutes but could not finish the fries.

"I think the challenge is so popular because people see the programme and think they could do it themselves."

The Swan Man versus Food hotdog challenge costs £13 but is free to anyone who wins.