Hundreds of people were said to have gathered before a giant toilet prop in Melbourne over a bid to enter the Guinness World Record for "the world's longest toilet queue".

The global campaign is expected to see participation from thousands of people from 61 countries ahead of the upcoming World Water Day.

James Wicken, WaterAid Australia policy and campaigns head, said the organisation was urging government officials to attend the first ever high-level meeting on sanitation and water in Washington with the UN Children's Fund on April 23, the Herald Sun reported.

In a WaterAid statement, Australia's parliamentary secretary for International Development Assistance, Bob McMullan, said: "Without access to clean water and proper sanitation people cannot lead healthy, fully productive lives and communities and countries cannot develop." (ANI)