Man bids £251,000 in internet wife auction

Bidding has now closed in an internet wife auction organised by Birmingham businesswoman Kay Hammond.

A user called Ben Webb is offering £251,000 (€410,000) for her hand in marriage, £1,000 more than the reserve price.

The auction on QXL attracted more than 38,000 hits, but only two bids.

Miss Hammond, 24, has promised to meet the winning bidder before deciding whether to go ahead with the marriage.

QXL spokeswoman, CJ Wilson, said: "Kay had a two-tier bidding system where people had to send her a confirmation email. I understand Mr Webb has done that.

"Now we'll send Kay a congratulations email, confirming the auction has closed and details of the winner. It's up to her to take it forward now.

"It attracted a lot of hits. It's not an item everyone wants to be bidding for, but everyone is interested in it. This is the first auction of it's kind that we've dealt with. I'm not sure if it will catch on. Kay set out her terms and conditions. I wouldn't advise anyone to do it as a joke.

Miss Hammond denies the auction is a publicity stunt, saying she's just too busy to find a partner.

Two previous attempts to auction herself online had to be cancelled after bogus bids reached £1bn (€1.6bn). This time Miss Hammond issued a warning to false bidders that they faced possible prosecution.