A staggering £99.50 was the final price bid for a brussel sprout when the offer on Ebay closed last week. The seller of this leftover sprout from Christmas is donating the proceeds from his innovative sale to the UK relief and development agency, Tearfund. Andrew Henderson (42) from Darlington had the sprout idea over Christmas dinner with the family. "As a family, we support Tearfund and I thought that it would be good to see if a leftover sprout could help Tearfund," said Andrew. "They are working in very practical ways to help those who have very little, those who certainly have nothing left over." Andrew kept the sprout frozen until the end of the auction and has now sent it in a polystyrene box to the buyer, by registered post. He says he was unable to arrange refrigerated transport - although that didn't stop one Ebay response from a driver at a refrigerated delivery company offering assistance! "We applaud Andrew for his very thoughtful initiative," said Jonathan Spencer at Tearfund. "There are so many needy people who struggle to get one adequate meal a day. For the many families and communities that Tearfund work with in some of the world's poorest countries, there's little hope of anything more. We will make sure the money goes to help people in extreme poverty." Tenby resident and voluntary media officer for Tearfund in Pembrokeshire, Sharron Hardwick, added: "Andrew Henderson's creative fundiraising idea is an inspiration to us all. His compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves is something that Pembrokeshire residents have recently demonstrated well, raising more than £1,100 for Tearfund's Southern Africa Appeal in December alone. "I would like to thank all at the Tenby Observer and Pembrokeshire residents for their prayers and support in 2005. The £1,100 came from the Giant Christmas cards appeal and generous donations from local churches, with money still coming in. I hope we can continue to support Tearfund in the battle against poverty in 2006. Together we can make a difference." said Sharron Hardwick.