Charles Thomson

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Find This Man and Win £30,000
DJ and serial prankster Tim Shaw has been locked in a metal box somewhere in Britain. Can you work out where?
Monday 1st March 2010, Guardian G2

Poor old Tim Shaw. Despite being involved in a raft of incidents that make Brand and Wossy's escapades pale into insignificance, the renegade radio presenter - who currently works for Birmingham station BRMB - has always failed to make much of a splash in the press.

Previous form includes an on-air punch after Shaw pointed a webcam up the skirt of a reality show contestant, an OFCOM reprimand for telephoning his grandmother on live radio, disguising his voice and telling her he was dead, and a sacking from Kerrang! radio after he broke into and trashed the house of his then boss Andrew Jeffries for a "prank".

But now it seems Shaw might finally get some of that publicity he has been craving for so long. Two weeks ago he was blindfolded, driven around for ten hours and then locked in a box at a secret location, where he will remain until mid-March unless somebody discovers his whereabouts. They will receive £30,000 for their troubles.

"Everything about ManInBox is crazy," says Graham Stuart, broadcasting consultant for the online stunt, "but the craziest thing of all is that the £30,000 prize money is Tim's own cash. That, to me, is madder than locking yourself in a steel box for 30 days."

So far the only clue to Shaw's location is that the spot played a significant part in his life. But as his every waking hour is being streamed live at maninbox.co.uk, viewers might pick up inadvertant clues from some of his online ramblings. The website is also raising cash for charity - money from the ads on the site will go to Help For Heroes, which helps injured servicemen.

Locking himself in a box is probably Shaw's least offensive stunt to date, yet it is generating cash for a worthy cause and has also provoked a healthy smattering of press coverage. Perhaps it would be beneficial all round if he stayed there.

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Charles Thomson - Sky News