STRAINS are starting to show among a spud-family deprived of their beloved potatoes as part of a three-week experiment.

The Bolton Evening News reported that the Morses -- mother Kathy, father Andrew and daughters Emily and Hannah -- had pledged to go without chips, mash and wedges.

The family, of Thornhill Drive, Worsley, were selected from 500 applicants to take part in the light-hearted promotion by chip makers McCains.

They are even being scrutinised by psychologist Aric Sigman, whose findings will be published at the end of the study.

Kathy, aged 35, Andrew, aged 39, and Emily and Hannah, aged nine and seven, have all been asked to keep diaries of how they are coping without their mealtime staple.

Mother Kathy admits having to cook without spuds has tested her ingenuity, with Andrew describing himself as "bored" with a diet of pasta, pizza and stir frys.

Dr Sigman said: "The kids are more supportive. They're more understanding and flexible about the new meals than their father, who is more set in his gastronomic ways.

"Like the rest of us, the Morses are creatures of habit. If potatoes are part of their routine and they are deprived of them, then the craving is exposed and intensified."

The Morses are being paid to take part in the stunt, but have pledged to donate part of the money to Pendlebury Children's Hospital in Manchester.