Sacre bleu!

9:47am Thursday 1st June 2006

A GIANT scale model of the Eiffel Tower is being auctioned on eBay to raise money for charity.

Trevor Cook, from Rushey Platt, Swindon, built the tower with two work colleagues to take part in the Red Bull Soap Box Race.

Despite coming last in every race, they wowed the crowds and even impressed former motor racing commentator Murray Walker.

Built over several weeks by Trevor, 31, and team mates Ben Findlay, 32, from Even Swindon, and Gordon Bissell, 30, from Didcot, the tower, which has also taken part in the Pewsey carnival, has served its purpose.

It is now being sold to raise money for charity DebRA and the Special Care Baby Unit at St Michael's Hospital in Bristol.

DebRA is a national charity that supports people living with Epidermolysis Bullosa , a condition that causes the skin to blister and peel.

The two charities are close to Trevor's heart and he is hoping to raise as much money as possible.

He said: "It's such a strange item that we have not got a clue who would buy it or what they would do with it. Hopefully someone will need it or want it."

He suggested that the tower, which is 11 feet high and has a base of about 16 square feet, could be used for any number of things, from different types of racing to events to a centrepiece for a garden.

Laura Pratt, DebRA's regional manager, said: "Building the replica Eiffel Tower was an incredible achievement. We hope bidders will pay as much as they can to help fund our specialist nurses, family support and research into effective treatments."

Andrew Monk, fundraising manager of the charitable trusts for the United Bristol Hospitals, said: "This is one of the most unusual fundraising activities undertaken in support of our hospitals.

"Trevor and his team's support will help to fund projects and equipment for the Special Care Baby Unit that will make a real difference to our patients."

The item will be listed on eBay for seven days beginning at noon today.

It will be listed under the keywords Eiffel Tower soapbox.

eiffel file

THE tower is made mostly from wood.

The team cut more than 600 holes out of a huge sheet of wood.

Hundreds more pieces of wood were then connected to these holes to create the lattice effect.

More than 12 lengths of metal taken from old bed frames were also used to build the tower.

The tower weighs 120 kilos.

It took the team 200 hours to build, working on average for two hours every night, five days a week, for three months and at weekends.

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