Maida Vale pub landlord’s six-day dance in Leicester Square bags world record

A pub landlord has raised more than �2,500 for two hospitals by dancing non-stop for more than six days in the middle of Leicester Square.

Steve Stevens, 36, of The Eagle pub in Clifton Road, Maida Vale, was only allowed a five minute break every hour as he broke the world record for the longest dance by an individual, strutting his stuff for an incredible 148 hours.

After reaching the previous record of 123 hours shortly after 1pm on Saturday, set by a woman in India, Steve kept jiving for another 25 hours until Sunday lunchtime.

Friends and strangers lent support while a string of DJs played for him as he sheltered from the rain under a gazebo in Leicester Square Gardens, and survived on food and caffeine from nearby outlets and several “energy wraps” created by an Eagle regular.

“I had lots of amazing DJs playing for me and perhaps went for it a bit too much,” said Steve, who damaged one of his legs and had to take a two-hour rest as he approached the record.

He had to rely on his mammoth 18gigabyte MP3 playlist on his iPod to keep him going through the wee hours, watched by witnesses drawn from regular drinkers at The Eagle.

On reaching his new record, Steve said he felt “absolute relief”, adding: “When I came back into the pub I got a huge cheer.”

He had raised the money for St James’s Hospice in Leeds and Chelsea’s Royal Brompton Hospital, in memory of friends he has lost.