Up to 300 people run up steps of Sheraton to raise money for Unicef

Between 250 and 300 people on Sunday ran up 30 flights of stairs in the Sheraton Hotel in central Brussels, to raise money for the UN children's organisation Unicef. Among those taking part in this third edition of the gruelling climb was the organisation's patron in Belgium, the crooner Helmut Lotti (pictured), who completed the climb in a very respectable 2m52s.

The Sheraton has 466 steps from the ground to the highest point; the building on the Place Rogier in Brussels is one of the capital's highest. Each participant paid a fee of €15 for the lung-busting privilege of running to the top – money which will go to projects in favour of nomadic children in Nigeria and the Baka minority in Cameroon.  More than €7,000 was raised in entry fees and other donations, organisers said.

Also taking part were 40 trainee fire-fighters, all of whom were made to wear the full 20kg of kit, including breathing apparatus. The man and woman with the best times – reigning champions Omar Bekkali (2m5s) and Janet Cardenas (3m13s) – won a free night in the hotel with a guest of their choice every month in 2014.