THE Guardian news and sports team brushed aside the nation's hottest sports tipsters to win thousands of pounds for charity.

Our team was delighted to hand over a cheque for £3,674 to Crewe-based charity The Railway Children after winning the Betfair-Press Gazette World Cup Media Challenge.

Online gambling site Betfair gave top newspapers across the country £250 with which to bet on the World Cup.

Newsrooms had to make at least one bet on every round of the tournament, with the winning team receiving their final account balance for their chosen charity.

The Guardian's steady progress in the early stages included backing England to beat Trinidad and Tobago 2-0, and heavy stakes on more than 1.5-goals in the 3rd/4th play-off put us in second place going into the Final.

Betting our full account on an Italian victory paid dividends, with a final total of £1,837 enough to secure victory ahead of the Sun, the Mirror, the Telegraph and betting papers like The Racing Post and The Racing and Football Outlook.

Betfair kindly agreed to match our winnings, giving a £3,674 total for charity.

The Railway Children helps some of the world's most disadvantaged street children, and its work featured prominently on BBC's Sport Relief night.

Founder David Maidment said: "This sum of money would fund one of our Indian emergency shelters and the food, health care and education of its 25 children for six months."

Guardian editor Paul Smith said: "The team did tremendously well to beat the nationals and the racing press and it was great to help such a worthwhile cause as The Railway Children, although it didn't dispel our disappointment at England's performances."