Stressed Spaniards smash up hotel

One winner destroys a bathroom in the hotel

A group of stressed-out people in Spain have been given a chance to let off steam by demolishing a hotel in Madrid.

The 30 winners of a contest run by NH Hoteles were given sledgehammers to smash up the bedrooms and bathrooms of the 146-room hotel in the capital.

The participants of the "roomolition" were selected by psychologists from more than 200 stressed applicants.

The winners included top executives and a working mother who said she simply wanted to hit something.

High school teacher Pablo, another participant, said he really enjoyed letting off steam.

"I don't need to smash my classroom now, not anymore - I'm already relaxed," Pablo was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

The group were allowed to destroy the interiors on one entire floor of the hotel before builders move in to start a refurbishment.