A fake eBay bid for Ronnie Pickering’s Citroen Xsara Picasso came from a child who was using his mum’s iPad, it has been reported.
The mum of the child said her son had “logged onto her iPad and submitted the bid as a joke”, according to the eBay listing’s owner and father-of-two, Lee Newton.
Newton, the founder of the L6ve Life Foundation, was donated the car by owner Pickering to raise money to find a cure for motor neurone disease (MND), a condition he has been battling for two years.
The eBay listing has seen a number of hoax bids, including one for £10,000,000. A friend of Newton and the man who persuaded Pickering to donate his car, Dave Giblin, has since asked for bidders to take the auction seriously.
Speaking to the Hull Daily Mail, Giblin said: “I emailed the account where the £10m bid had come from and a lady told me her son had logged onto her iPad and submitted the bid as a joke.
“She apologised and said she would make a donation to L6ve Life. It has been very frustrating. Some of the bids, which we believe are hoaxes, have come from accounts that have been open five or six years, with positive feedback.
“People are not having a pop at Ronnie when they are making these bids. The car does not belong to him any more. It’s been given to L6ve Life. They are actually having a pop at a local charity.
“I would ask people to take a few moments to google MND and L6ve Life. MND is not a laughing matter.”
The now-famous Pickering became a worldwide internet sensation after his road rage abuse at a moped rider was caught on camera and published on YouTube. The video has since been watched more than 1.5 million times.
The eBay listing now has more sensible bids, putting it at £730 at the time of writing with 34 bids.
Pickering’s 2005 Xsara Picasso is said to be ‘a good runner’ and has ‘a few scrapes and bumps here and there’. It is also signed by the man himself along with the words: “Do you know who I am?”
Leave a Reply