A N expectant hush descended on the hotel foyer as the precious items were carefully unloaded in time for the auction.

With only a matter of hours to go before the big event, staff at Harrogate's Majestic Hotel joined organisers to frantically fumble with the packaging before whisking them the lots away to be framed and displayed.

Although there were no masterpieces, gems or furniture on sale, it was one auction which was far from "bog standard".

The pieces in question were lavatory seats - designer items, signed by stars from the world of screen and sport.

Posh and Becks, quizmaster and radio presenter Chris Tarrant and Australian entertainer Rolf Harris were among those who donated the most personal of pieces of furniture to be auctioned for charity.

It attracted some frenetic bidding as the wealthy and the plain crazy paid thousands of pounds to take one of them home and add a bit of celebrity status to their smallest room.

It was, of course, all for a good cause.

Proceeds from the event will be sent to the Robert Ogden School for Autistic Children, in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, and, aptly, will help build a new toilet facility at the school.

But who in their right mind would approach a celebrity and ask them to sign their toilet seat?

The idea for the Flushed with Success auction came from three northern businessmen, who decided to raise some cash after witnessing for themselves the terrible state of the toilets at the school during a visit.

After putting their heads together, Jon Hammond, Gary Shaw and Gary Favell decided to get hold of some toilet seats and ask various celebrities to sign them. And they were bowled over by the response.

Mr Hammond, who runs Catapult Presentations, in Huddersfield, said the success of the event had surpassed their expectations.

He said: "It is a bit of a strange way to raise money, but it has really worked. People have even bid for some of the seats from as far away as Brazil, via the Internet, which shows how amazing the response has been.

"In the end, we raised £60,000 - £10,000 more than our aim, which has made us all immensely proud.

"As an added bonus, we have even had a late entry, from Lionel Ritchie, who has sent us a signed seat which we will auction during the next two weeks. It seems even the Americans have a healthy liking for toilet humour."

To bid for Lionel Ritchie's signed toilet seat visit the auction website, at www.flushed.org.uk