Diva demands red carpet at 3am

As demands from divas go, Mariah Carey's latest must be among the most outrageous.

When the singer's aides arrived at a London hotel at 2am yesterday to check preparations for her imminent arrival, they were dismayed to find the red carpet had not been rolled out.

They explained that, whatever time of day or night she arrives, Miss Carey is always welcomed by a thick-pile red carpet illuminated by large white candles.

The high-maintenance American star insisted she did not want to step on a dirty pavement so, at 2.15am, staff from the Baglioni hotel in Kensington - where her entourage has booked 15 rooms for three days costing as much as £2,000 per room per night - were dispatched to find the carpet and candles as she circled the bloc in a cavalcade of limousines.

Once the carpet was in place, Miss Carey, who had flown in on a private jet, braved the chilly night air in a very revealing low-cut dress, a cream coat and, for some reason, sunglasses. The hotel's operations manager said: "It's not unheard of for us to rush a red carpet out for a guest. We're used to dealing with high-profile guests and everyone has their own requirements."

Miss Carey, 34, who is on a tour of the UK to promote an album, has a reputation for being pop's most demanding diva.

In January, she paid £1,500 to have her Jack Russell flown 2,500 miles first-class from New York to join her in Los Angeles.