Woman to auction name on eBay

A 37-year-old woman has put her name up for auction on eBay.

Eileen De Bont, a dental nurse from Denbigshire, will allow the winning bidder to rename her and subsequently make the change official by deed poll.

Half of the money raised will be donated to charity Children In Need, with the rest going towards Christmas presents for her children.

One of the 50 potential names De Bont has selected for herself is Scunthorpe Travelodge.

"Everyone thinks I'm really wacky for doing this, especially my kids. My parents aren't angry, they just think I'm crazy," she is quoted as saying.

"I don't know what made me think of this. I want to raise money for a worthy cause and thought this was a great idea.

"It's not just exclusive to these 50 names. If a business wants a walking advert for a year I'm willing to change my name to their company's."

She added: "It's all very silly but I'm deadly serious about changing it. I'll even call myself Scunthorpe Travelodge if it's the winning bid, so watch out Paris Hilton."