GUIDES and Brownies held a record-breaking sleepover at a shopping centre.

More than 1600 girls across Bromley and Bromley stayed in the Glades shopping centre on Saturday night, enjoying entertainment from local groups and a visit from the Mayor of Bromley Cllr Pauline Tunnicliffe.

Amy Salter, 13, from Sixth West Wickham Brownies enjoyed the challenge. She said: “It was different from camping outside and a bit strange. I got to sleep quite quickly. It was good.”

Olivia Duhre, nine, found it wasn’t as cold as she thought it would be. She said: “I thought it was quite warm with everyone around, it was quite stuffy. I thought I’d never get to sleep with the light on but I did.”

The youngsters had to put up with the main lights on in the Glades until they were switched off at 1am, they were then stirred at 6am in the morning, to make sure they were out of the building before the shoppers arrived at 10am.

The current record for a sleepover is 1,045 people at a church in Virginia, USA. To break it, they had to stay for a minimum of 12 hours and had to be asleep for at least five hours.

The sleepover was organised by a small committee of eight volunteers as well as adults involved in Guiding throughout the Guide County of Greater London Kent (GLK).

Glades management and security staff were also on hand throughout the night to ensure the area was kept safe, secure and clean.

Glades marketing manager Maria Cooper said: “We were delighted with the response of the event organised by the GLK, it was quite a sight to see all the participants turn up and the excited atmosphere was a real experience.

“The Glades is a focal point of the local community and we were pleased to host this World Record Attempt.”