Online bids for 'rare' Wispa bar

Wispa bars were brought back in October as a trial

An online bidding war is taking place for a five-year-old Wispa bar.

Student Rebecca Wells, from Stoke-on-Trent, found the out-of-date Cadbury bar down the back of a sofa.

She has put it up for auction on the eBay site to raise money for the charity LAM Action, which funds research into a fatal lung disease.

The Birmingham firm stopped making Wispa bars in 2003. It brought them back as a trial in October following an internet campaign.

So far bidding for the bar has reached more than £200 - hundreds of times its original sale price.

'Childhood memento'

Ms Wells said she initially wanted to eat the bar - which was best before 28 April 2004 - when she found it.

She said: "It kind of went through my mind but I knew it was probably going to be years out of date.

"I didn't know what to do with it. I was looking for things to put on eBay when I found it so I thought I might put it on eBay and see what happens."

Peter Bonner, who led the Bring Back Wispa campaign, said the auction might appeal to people who want a memento from their childhood.

He said he thought it might sell for as much as £50.