HOTEL workers have raised more than £1,300 for a children’s hospital after taking part in a week of charity challenges.

Staff at Premier Inn hotels in Vange, at Rayleigh Weir, and in Eastern Esplanade, Thorpe Bay, organised a variety of activities, including a bake-off, an afternoon tea and a charity bingo night.

One brave team member at the Thorpe Bay hotel even volunteered to be gunged in a sponsored “custard dunk” – all in aid of Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, in London.

It was part of a nationwide fundraising effort by Whitbread Hotels and Rest aurants staff. The chain pledged to raise £7.5 million towards a new treatment centre in the grounds of the hospital.

The Premier Inn Clinical Building will replace outdated wards and provide greater privacy and comfort for families of young patients, including rooms where parents can sleep by their children’s beds.

The latest charity week brings the total raised so far to £2million. The new centre is due to open in 2017.

Antonia Dalmahoy, from Great Ormond Street Hospital, said “It’s wonderful staff across south Essex embraced our national charity week and worked so hard to raise funds.

"Since the partnership began with Premier Inn, I have been really moved by the enthusiasm of the company’s employees and their desire to get involved and make a real difference to the hospital.

“I’d like to thank them all for their efforts."