THEY are cute, cuddly and can be worth a tidy sum - if you can bear to part with them.

The teddy bear celebrates its 100th birthday this year. To mark the occasion, a collection of 26 of the children's favourite goes under the hammer at Newcastle auctioneers Anderson and Garland, on Wednesday.

A large early version, 20in tall, is expected to fetch about £300, despite missing its eyes. The smallest, at 2in, in royal blue mohair, could go for £100.

More unusual varieties include a miniature bear with a concealed perfume bottle and a Goodnight Bear from the 1950s, resplendent in dressing gown and toothbrush.

John Anderson of Anderson and Garland said: "The market for teddy bears has seen a dramatic expansion since the 1980s. Up until then, they were a protected species, cherished beyond all other family possessions.

"With the allure of small fortunes when they come under the hammer in salesrooms like ours, it is not surprising that more and more families are making painful but profitable sacrifices."

The teddy bear was invented in the US in 1902.

The then US president, Theodore Roosevelt, was involved in a boundary dispute between two states.

His refusal to take an easy political option to resolve the row led to him being cartooned in the Washington Star newspaper as a hunter refusing to shoot a button-eyed bear cub.

A Brooklyn toymaker saw the story and produced a run of cuddly toys called Teddy's Bear.