Six friends set a world record when they sat down to a formal dinner in evening dress, 22,326ft up a mountain in the Himalayas.

The team, most of whom grew up together in Forest Row, carried tables, chairs, silver cutlery and a five-course meal to the summit of 23,113ft Lhakpa Ri in Tibet.

But hurricane-strength winds forced them to descend to a more sheltered point 787ft below the summit for dinner.

The meal included a starter of caviar and biscuits, followed by duck, couscous and a medley of vegetables.

A third course of chocolate bombe with chocolate sauce was followed by cheddar, stilton and biscuits, with Fortnum and Mason birthday cake to finish in a celebration of team leader Henry Shelford's 30th birthday.

All this was accompanied by Moondarra Australian wine, which turned to an icy mush at minus 20C.

The team, which also included an Australian, is expecting official confirmation from the Guinness Book Of Records in the next few days.

Mr Shelford, 30, described the team as "novice climbers".

He said: "It's all wonderfully surreal now but I can still remember a lot of the pain.

"It was incredibly difficult. Every effort leaves you panting, struggling for every breath. Then you start tucking in to the food and think, 'This is actually very nice'."

Mr Shelford came up with the idea in a bid to raise money for the British Lung Foundation to carry out research into the lung disease sarcoidosis.

More than £25,000 has been raised so far.

He said: "I wanted to do something to help people who were not as lucky as me.

"I had sarcoidosis and it was curable but in many cases it isn't.

"My lungs felt like red balls of steel at one point during the climb but I'm glad we made it."

Several relatives of victims of the disease contacted him to make their own donations to the research and to offer support.

He said: "I've been touched by all the people who've contacted me.

"I'm chuffed to bits with everyone's generosity."

The team began their attempt on April 10 and sat down to dine on May 3.

Guinness World Records stipulated at least six members of the team had to sit down to the meal.

The record was held by a team of Australians who ate at the 22,205ft peak of Mount Huascaran, Peru, in 1989.

After consulting style authority Debrett's, the British challengers decided to correct a faux pas committed by the Australians.

They wore morning suits, a gross breach of etiquette. A morning suit should be worn at events such as weddings - not dinners.

For the new record, the climbers dressed in the only attire which should be worn at a truly formal dinner - white tie.

The team members were allowed by Debrett's to keep on their hats, gloves and white silk scarves during dinner because they were dining in such cold temperatures.

Three other Britons also started the record bid but were forced to abandon their attempt after suffering from altitude sickness.