DAVID BLAINE - BLAINE ENCOUNTERS FLYING EGGS

Madcap illusionist DAVID BLAINE is having to endure more than the prospect of surviving 44 days in a Perspex box without food - his temporary home is being bombarded with eggs and golf balls.

The wacky magician - who entered the tiny box over London's River Thames on Friday (05SEP03) - is struggling to sleep, thanks to the banging drums, missile throwing and verbal abuse from local revellers.

And perpetrators admit they're making life hard for American Blaine because it's boring watching him lie in a box all day.

SHIRAZ AZAM, who managed to wake Blaine in the early hours of this morning (08SEP03), says, "We were watching him at home on TV and it was really dull so we thought we would come down and liven things up. I wanted to wake him up."

Returning from a club last night (07SEP03), SARAH LEWIS told reporters, "Watching a man sleep is pretty boring. We are making an effort to try and wake him up."