ES auction bids top £50,000 in days

Thousands of generous Standard readers have pushed bids in our Christmas charity auction to more than £50,000 after just a few days.

Bids began flooding in immediately after the 100 lots and 50 stocking fillers - including the chance to have Gordon Ramsay cook dinner at your home - were posted on eBay on Friday.

The auction closes next Monday at noon but already a total of £50,510,62 has been raised to help change the lives of underprivileged children through the work of the pioneering charity Kids Company.

This year's auction sees unique experiences that money normally cannot buy - ranging from an art lesson with Tracey Emin to a day's training with Tottenham Hotspur - up for grabs to the highest bidder.

A dinner party for 12 prepared by chef Ramsay is the most sought-after lot so far, with a top bid of £5,000. Other popular lots include the chance to join Jonathan Ross and his guests on his Friday night BBC1 chat show, which has attracted a bid of £2,500.

Last year's auction raised more than £200,000 for charity as our readers' generosity defied the recession.