One amazing sale

Retired chemist Stanley Shoop knew exactly which lot he was looking for. A latex model of a body louse had caught his eye in the auction catalogue.

Mr Shoop from Elstree in Hertfordshire said: "Utterly revolting of course, but I like quirky things. I am a member of the Ephemera Society

"The lice are a bit bigger than I imagined and seem to be automated. I think my wife will have seven fits if I bid for them. For the sake of matrimonial harmony I had better pick something else."

It is too soon for Mrs Shoop to relax. Stanley has spotted the six-foot model of a hamster with its own massive slice of cheese.

"Now that might look good in the garden," he ponders.

The once bustling interior of the Dome is now a sad sight. Everywhere men in hard hats are pulling its guts apart - ripping out everything that might fetch a few quid.

Its future is uncertain as potential bidders tussle for the right to determine its new role.

In the meantime sophisticated lighting, sound, computer and catering equipment are all going under the hammer.

But it is the weird miscellaneous items in the catalogue that make the most amusing lots on show.

Who, you wonder, will bid for a rubber chicken, a Mini chopped in half, a portrait of Blackadder or a battered mannequin clutching a rose.

Is there is a gap in their lives that needs to be filled by a giant seagull made from recycled kitchen utensils or 50 stuffed hamsters incarcerated in metal cages.

Maybe the eyeballs, pumping heart or surgeon's operating table lots will appeal to the ghoulish.

Mr Shoop draws my attention to yet another item, "Have you seen Tony Blair's lunchbox?" "Not yet," I tell him.

Lecturer Peter Engledew, 50, from Walthamstow is not having much joy in his hunt for a piece of Dome history.

"I remember some exquisite model trains being on show but I can't seem to find them.

"I'm not really that bothered that they are selling everything off. The Dome cost us all an arm and a leg. They'd have been better off spending the money on a few new hospitals," he said.

But his views are not shared by Wills Gardner, 37, who comes from Westbourne Park in London and used to work in the Playzone area of the Dome before the shutdown.

"It was a great job, I really used to enjoy it. I had to wear a cyber-suit and explain to people about the different exhibits like the kissing machine.

"Hopefully one of the new bidders will bring it back to life again."

Dome enthusiast Doreen Golding, 60 - making her 10th visit to the Millennium site - would also like to see the attraction kept open.

She said: "I visited here when it was being built, I brought my grandson to see it and I was here was it closed for the last time on New Year's Eve.

"I know how much it has done for this area. It was just wasteland before."