Whale watering can makes £2,050

Funds will pay for new equipment to free whales caught in nets

A red watering can used by rescue teams trying to save a whale stranded in the River Thames has been sold for £2,050.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue Group (BDMLR) auctioned the vessel via website eBay and the highest bidder was a Canadian-based gambling website.

The charity had thought the sale would easily cover their £5,000 rescue bill when bids reached as much as £115,000.

But it later emerged that the auction had been hijacked by spoof bidders trying to advertise their own shops.

The brightly-coloured can was seen in TV coverage and pictures around the world as Faye Archell from the rescue crew tried in vain to hydrate the lost northern bottle-nosed whale.

Kidney stone

The team had been trying to take the female adolescent back out to sea on a rescue barge when she died.

Tony Woodley, spokesman for the BDMLR, said the can was bought by goldenpalacecasino.com, a website specialising in the strange and unusual.

It recently bought a kidney stone passed by Star Trek actor William Shatner for £14,000.

The money will go towards buying new equipment to free whales entangled in fishing nets and training volunteers to use it, said Mr Woodley.

The charity also received £10,000 from public donations in the first week after the dramatic rescue, watched by millions around the world.