WHAT started as a bonkers gift for a shoe-crazed wife has now become a charity fundraising sensation.

In March, Latchingdon resident Andy Walker bought a 14ft long and 7ft high pair of red slippers - previously used for a Wizard of Oz display in Harrods, London – to satisfy his wife’s obsession with shoes.

The shoes became a local sensation overnight with many residents and neighbours noticing them when passing by the house in Cold Norton Road.

With the excitement somewhat subsided, Andy has decided to put the shoes up for sale on the auction website eBay, with all proceeds going towards Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

Andy said: “There wasn’t necessarily a method to my madness with the shoes, it just happened when I spotted them in a factory and thought it would make a funny scenerio for the wife and get a bit of public interest, but after the buzz with the neighbours and other residents died down a bit I had a thought about what I could do with them.

“I ended up thinking about Great Ormond Street and how they had taken great care of my brother who died of leukemia a long time ago, and thought that these could fetch a really good price to give away to them.”

The shoes were put on the site this week, with the auction running until Bank Holiday Monday. So far, bidding has increased to £112.

Andy added: “It’s been incredibly popular since it went live, the page has already had 15,000 views and I’ve had people message me from America asking how much it would cost to ship them over there.

“I’m not worried about getting back the money I paid for them, but I’m committed to getting a decent sum raised for them to give away.

“If it looks like people won’t want to pay too much for them I’ll pull the auction to try again, but it’s always the way with eBay that everyone will bid at the last minute, so I won’t know the rough price they’ll get until right near the end.”

To view the shoes, visit www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262931771819.