Ever fancied spending a day on the run being pursued by dogs and enemy soldiers? Or maybe hours of torture are a bit more up your street?

These are just some of the challenges regularly faced by SAS wannabes during the elite unit's severe selection process and Brentwood accountant Nik Kandola now knows the pain they go through.

In the field - Nik chats to show host Dermot O'Leary while out on an exercise

The Basildon-based Visteon employee was one of the 30 members of the public selected to take part in the BBC's new series SAS: Are You Tough Enough?

The programme is designed to see how the man on the street copes with the extreme training undertaken by those wanting to join the world's most elite regiment. Hundreds of people applied to take part in the series, which began last Sunday night.

Nik, from Rowhedge, was one of the "lucky" ones selected to travel up to the Scottish Highlands to join in a condensed SAS training course which tested every participant to their physical and mental limits.

The 29-year-old describes himself as "a bit of a fitness fanatic", but his day job at Visteon could never have prepared him for the tortuous demands he had to face.

He admitted after earning a place in the programme's final four: "It was an absolutely amazing experience, but now I know how much it hurts I don't know whether I would do it again.

"I think my sense of self preservation might get the better of me."

During the ten day course those taking part had to cope with everything from 24 hour marches to disorientating torture sessions.

The exercises proved so demanding that almost half of those taking part had dropped out after the first two.

After completing the course Nik was left with nothing but admiration for the SAS. He said: "I have always respected the armed forces - especially the elite units - and wondered how I would stand up against the selection tests they are put through.

"I was delighted to get through to the final four, but to be honest none of us were really good enough to get in to the SAS."

Published Thursday, March 14, 2002