Busy office staff got the chance to sleep off the excesses of The City today—on a double bed in the middle of a public shopping market.

The bed suddenly appeared at Old Spitalfields Market at lunchtime—just a sleepwalk from Liverpool Street station.

So they took their shoes off for a quick forty winks, in this unashamed publicity stunt by east London’s Richard House children’s hospice.

“We had the bed in the middle of the market for more than an hour,” explained the man who dreamed up the bed stunt, Manjeet Boparai. “We thought this was a great promotion for the hospice while also giving something back to businessmen and women—a quick nap and a break.”

It was promoting a 10-mile Saturday night sponsored sleep-walk the charity is staging on May 26 to raise badly-needed funds for the hospice at Beckton.

Wellwishers are being encouraged to take part in pyjamas, of course.

They can take in the sights of London City Airport, Canary Wharf and The Docklands—if they manage to keep their eyes open.

Entry is �15 with minimum �100 sponsorship. Dreamers can sign up by calling Manjeet on 020-7540 0204, or go online: www.richardhouse.org.uk/events.