Blackburn man turns £3,845 auction blunder into charity project

A Blackburn collector accidentally bid £3,845 on a diecast Thunderbird 2 and has relisted the toy to raise money for the North West Air Ambulance and other charities; the plan is for the model to travel, be photographed, and be resold with part of each sale donated.

Jim Walker, a Blackburn man who has bought items at auction for about 50 years, accidentally bid £3,845 for a diecast Thunderbird 2 while bidding online. He had intended a maximum bid of £45 but included another bidder’s figure by mistake. Rather than keep the item, he chose to turn the error into a fundraising project linked to the North West Air Ambulance and other charities. Key details: - The accidental winning bid was £3,845 after an input error; Jim says he had intended to bid around £45. - He negotiated with the seller and they reached an agreement for a sale price of £700. - Jim relisted the toy on eBay and announced that proceeds will benefit the North West Air Ambulance, in memory of his family friend Jason Shaw who died earlier this year. - The fundraising plan lets each winning bidder enjoy the model for a short period, take it to local landmarks, and share photos on an Instagram account called Thunderbird2MissionKindness before relisting. - Each resale will donate 25% of the sale price to North West Air Ambulance and 75% to a charity chosen by the seller; Jim says the initiative has already drawn interest from as far as Australia and Southern California. - The first auction details are due to be released in the week of February 16. Summary: The project converts an online bidding mistake into a travelling fundraiser that will be tracked on Instagram and resold several times with portions of each sale donated to charities, including the North West Air Ambulance. The effort is presented in memory of a family friend, and the next public step is the release of the first auction details in the week of February 16.