A LONELY Brussels sprout has raised £1,550 for a cancer charity.

Last week, bidders on Internet site eBay were at war over who would buy the Teesside sprout - named Nicholas - and the price spiralled.

Nicholas is the second North-East sprout to be sold on eBay in a week. Last Wednesday, a sprout belonging to a Darlington man sold for £99.50.

Now Leigh Knight, 18, a heating parts specialist from Stockton, has to say farewell to Nicholas after an eBay user called Rachel bid £1,550 for it.

He said: "When I first put Nicholas up for auction, I started at £1 and thought he'd only get a few pounds. I was amazed when it went up to £30 and pretty sure that it wouldn't go any higher.

"I'm so pleased that I've raised so much for Cancer Research, it's great.

"It's a charity that's very close to my heart. My grandmother, Jean, had cancer and died last year, so I just wanted to help the charity as much as I could.

"I told the winner to send the cheque to Cancer Research."

Leigh added: "At first, I was going to arrange transportation for the sprout, but now it looks like they are coming here to collect Nicholas personally, so it will be nice to meet them."

Nicholas was put on eBay on New Year's Eve and bidding started slowly. Leigh turned down an offer of a carrot in part exchange and was staggered by the size of the bids.