I'm a bad dad...get me out of here

A Leeds schoolboy is refusing to talk to his dad after he scoffed down his three pet stick insects.

10:44 09 December 2004

A Leeds schoolboy is refusing to talk to his dad after he scoffed down his three pet stick insects.

Pete Wilson, 27, was left pleading for forgiveness from his seven-year-old son Adam after a tequila session watching I'm a Celebrity on TV got out of control.

The mechanic and two friends were sinking successive shots while watching former royal butler Paul Burrell partake in a Bushtucker Trial that involved eating a kangaroo testicle and other tasty morsels.

Not content just watching the drama unfold, Pete and his paralytic pals decided to grab a slice of the action themselves.

Pete brought out jellied eels, cod roe, fish eyes, tripe, ox tongue, raw eggs and tequila worms and all three began to tuck in to prove who had the strongest constitution.

But after the contest was ruled a draw, Pete caught sight of his son's pet Australian leaf insects - named Matt, James and Charlie after the band Busted - and decided to swallow the lot.

"The tequila was flowing all night and I guess I must have drunk too much," a repentant Pete told the Daily Mirror.

"We were in hysterics watching Paul Burrell's Bushtucker Trial and we were getting more and more drunk by the minute. By the time the show was over, we were smashed.

"We were so drunk we would have eaten almost anything. The food tasted awful, but everyone was desperate to be king of the jungle and we just kept going until we ran out of things to eat.

"One of the lads spotted Adam's stick insects in their tank in the corner of the room and said: 'What about one of those?'

"I decided to go for it and wolfed all three down, so there was no doubt about the winner."

Adam and his mum were upstairs in bed at the time, but Pete soon realised what he had done when his son came down the following morning in tears. Pete eventually owned up to his wife before begging for absolution from Adam.

"I've been an absolute idiot. I feel like the world's worst dad," he admitted.

"I will do absolutely anything to make it up to Adam. He hasn't spoken to me since he found out, but I'm hoping he will forgive me."