Rat sculptures raise £160k for charity

The auctioneer stands in front of a screen that displays one of the rat sculptures.  People are sat on chairs with their backs to the camera during the bidding.
Image caption,

The auction was held on Saturday at the Princes Quay Event Space in Hull

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Forty-five large rat sculptures that were on display around Hull this summer have been sold, raising £160k for charity.

The sculptures pay tribute to rock musician Mick Ronson from the sixties band The Rats.

On Saturday, 23 of them went under the hammer - the other rats were pre-sold to their sponsors.

The money raised will go to the Daisy Appeal, which supports Cottingham's Castle Hill hospital.

The 6ft-tall (1.8m) rats were part of a walking trail across the city and went on show ahead of what would have been Mick Ronson's 80th birthday on 26 May.

A rat sculpture painted with a yellow jumper and displayed on a wooden board outside The Deep.
Image caption,

The sculptures were positioned at tourist attractions like The Deep

The remaining sculptures were sold by Gilbert Baitson Auctioneers in the Princes Quay Event Space on Saturday and raised over £93k.

Valerie Easton was delighted after she bid and won lot number three.

"I'm going to put it in our garden," she said.

"We've just recently moved to the area so these guys were my first kind of introduction to Hull.

"I've had my eye on them for quite a while."

Valerie is smiling for the camera and wears a bright pink scarf on top of a floral blouse.
Image caption,

Valerie Easton was delighted with her purchase of a giant rat

Ian Jones also bought one as a keepsake as he had been involved with the art trails before.

"I just wanted to mark my 15 years of involvement and have something as a memento," he said.

"So ratty is going in the garden."

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