(Image: Supplied)
A TEDDY bear with a cult following has raised hundreds of pounds for charity.
The vintage Alresford Crafts honey bear was donated to the Sue Ryder shop on Clayton Road in Bradford and later sold on eBay for £530.
The shop team had expected the bear to fetch around £30, but the auction quickly took off after a Bournemouth-based blog starring a similar bear drastically increased the number and value of bids.
Louise Wilcock, shop assistant at the Clayton Road store, said: "We put the bear up hoping to raise double figures, but then it started receiving some amazing bids and a mini-bidding war broke out.
"We did some Googling and it turns out this specific model of bear has something of a cult following online.
"There's an online blog called Horace the Alresford Bear, and a related Facebook page with 14,000 followers, and it seems that some fans are desperate for a Horace of their own."
Funds raised from the sale will go to Sue Ryder, which provides palliative care and bereavement support.
The charity helps people from diagnosis through to end-of-life care and also supports their families and loved ones.
Last year, Sue Ryder delivered more than 655,000 hours of end-of-life care across the UK.