Date auction raises £140 for animal charity

A BRITISH woman living in Paphos, who put herself up for a date auction on the Internet, has been ‘bought’ for £140.10, it was reported yesterday.

Musician Diana Bell, from Hertfordshire, whose stage name is Jezebel or Jez, was asking for £100 as a starting bid for a dinner date with her at a top Paphos restaurant. The money will go to charity.

Jez, who has been in Cyprus for seven months as a member of a musical duo called Groovejet, said that putting herself up for auction for dates was a way of meeting eligible men while helping her favourite charity, the Paphiakos Animal Welfare.

The auction was held over two weeks.

The night out with Jez was won by a man who only identified himself as Eamonn; he made a last minute bid for £140 and 10 cents.

The money will be formally presented to the animal welfare charity on Monday, August 2.

Jez got the idea when her friend Kizzi Nkwocha, once dubbed Britain’s “King of Spin”, decided to set up a local alternative to e-Bay – www.15minutesauction.com.

Nkwocha’s agency, PRhq has represented clients ranging from the King of Uganda to most of the housemates from the UK shows Big Brother and Castaway.

A spokesman for 15minutesauction.com said: “We wish the couple every luck and hope they are right for each other.”