Tleegraph
(Filed: 12/11/2005)
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff's bat has been saved from going up in flames on Australian soil.
It was one of the star attractions at an auction which raised nearly half a million pounds for
BBC Children in Need.
The Ashes-winning bat, custom made for the England hero, was sold for £22,000 to millionaire UK businessman Nick Robinson in a close battle with Australian paparazzi boss Darryn Lyons.
Lyons had threatened to set fire to it in Australia and the bat - signed by Flintoff - was only saved from the flames when Robinson made the winning bid with the hammer about to fall.
The bat was one of the few to survive Flintoff's hard-hitting performances in the summer's Test series.
David Beckham offered four places at the opening of his new football Academy, which sold for £15,000 to Peter Jones from BBC Two's Dragon's Den. He immediately, on Beckham's recommendation, presented it back to Children in Need to select four children from one of the many projects they fund.
Mr Jones, a leading businessman, also paid £55,000 for a passenger ride with World Rally Champion driver Colin McRae.
Computer magnate Paul Barry Walsh paid £15,000 to take a luxury private jet to Bologna, Italy for a VIP visit to the Bologna Motor Show, where he will see supermodel and amateur racing driver Jodie Kidd compete.
The
Great Big Bid charity auction will be shown at 6.20pm tomorrow on BBC One.
