Derbyshire TV star to host charity auction in aid of well-loved local heritage site

Charles Hanson, star of Bargain Hunt, volunteered to run a charity auction for well-loved heritage site Creswell Crags after discovering it was in a desperate financial situation due to Covid-19 closure.

Charles, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: “When I heard about Creswell Crags’ plight, I had to do something.

“It’s one of the most important heritage sites in the UK, a national treasure with a history dating back tens of thousands of years.

“And it’s close to home. It’s on the Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire border near my saleroom headquarters.

“During lockdown, I raised £38,000 for the NHS and £18,000 for London’s Florence Nightingale Museum through online charity auctions with lots donated by well-wishers. Now it’s time to help Creswell Crags.”

More than 50 lots have flooded in for the July 3 auction including books signed by Creswell Crags’ patron professor Alice Roberts.

Other lots include two nights at a holiday cottage owned by The Welbeck Estate together with a pottery experience at The Harley Gallery and a one-off painting of a woolly mammoth has been created for the auction by wildlife artist Emily Rose.

A spokesperson for Creswell Crags said: “We are so grateful for the support we’ve received for this charity auction. It means the world to us.”

The auction will be broadcast live at www.hansonslive.co.uk on Friday, July 3, from 6.30pm.