Bassey's diva dresses auction

The auction is a far cry from her start in Cardiff's docklands

She is the girl from the impoverished Tiger Bay who went on to become the biggest spender of them all - with a wardrobe to prove it.

Shirley Bassey, the diva's diva, has cleaned out her closet and has selected 50 of her show stopping gowns for auction in Christie's, London in order to raise around £50,000.

The money will be split between the Dame Shirley Bassey scholarship and two concerns in her birthplace of Cardiff - the Royal Welsh College of Music and the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital appeal.

But the sale on Thursday - making Bassey's 50 years in showbusiness - is a world away from her beginnings as an entertainer when she earned her living in a sausage factory by day and singing in smoky clubs in Cardiff's docklands by night.

And it is likely to be something of a wrench for the 66-year-old singer who admitted it would not be easy to let go of the outfits - all created by her favourite designer Douglas Darnell.

All the gowns are by designer Douglas Darnell

"I feel proud knowing I wore these gowns," she said. "I love them all."

"Parting with these beautiful gowns will be an emotional experience as they have brought me great success in my career and have been loved and admired by so many," she said.

The oldest piece up for sale is a 1955 sleeveless stage gown, known affectionately by Bassey as "the diamond dress".

The outfit is encrusted with thousands of Swarovski aurora borealis crystals and weighs at an incredible 13lb (6kg).

Another of her favourites on sale is a black velvet gown with a three-dimensional orchid made from crystals,

The gold and silver sequinned and beaded gown associated with her first hit, the 1964 James Bond theme tune Goldfinger, is also in the auction.

And changing the mood slightly, buyers will also be able to bid for a cat suit of natural coloured chiffon lavishly embellished with Swarovski aqua marine topaz and aurora borealis crystals - complete with matching coat.

Dame Shirley wore this glittering array during her 60th Birthday Concert at Althorp Park in 1997.