IT HAS been rated as the number one activity to do in Hampshire on TripAdvisor, and now a popular business has launched in Basingstoke offering residents an ultimate 60 minutes of excitement and fun.

Exciting Escapes was set up by brothers David and Peter Gale in Southampton last year, and since then the pair have welcomed more than 9,000 customers.

The nail-biting activity sees participants work together in teams to find clues, solve puzzles and complete challenges in a themed room, with the clock constantly ticking down as they have just one hour to escape and finish the mission.

Teams are tasked with solving a mystery for British Intelligence and participants could find themselves uncovering evidence of a murder during the Cold War of the 1950s or taking on Communist spies in a 1980s record shop, among many set ups.

David, a father-of-two from Alton, decided to set up the business after being made redundant.

The 45-year-old said: “I read an article in the Sunday Times about escape rooms and it lit my fire. I phoned my brother who was a managing director for a call centre and doing really well and I said ‘quit your job to lock people in a room’!”

However, his joke soon became a reality and, following extensive research, Exciting Escapes launched in June last year with the first escape rooms opening in Southampton in November.

By January it was number one on TripAdvisor for the most fun thing to do in Southampton and by March it was number one in Hampshire.

Following their success, the creative brothers decided to expand the business and opened up the Basingstoke rooms in July this year, in Wote Street, in the town centre.

David and 43-year-old Peter, a father-of-three from South London, devised all the games themselves, working together to use their individual strengths to create thrilling experiences for their customers.

David said: “We’re a really good team. My job is to come up with the stories and puzzles and Peter has a real talent for bringing it all together.”

For more information visit excitingescapes.co.uk or the Exciting Escapes Facebook page.