Jilted man's honeymoon eBay auction makes thousands for charity

A man "dumped" six weeks before his wedding has raised thousands of pounds for charity by auctioning his fiancee's place on the honeymoon.

John Whitbread, 32, paid just under £2,000 for the two-week trip to the Dominican Republic for two people, but has sold it on eBay for £8,000.

Mr Whitbread, from Donisthorpe, Leicestershire, said he was "overwhelmed".

He said he did not know why a woman had paid so much to go on holiday with him.

Mr Whitbread, who had expected the holiday to sell for about £500, said he would use £1,000 as joint spending money and £50 to switch names on travel documents.

He said he would donate the rest to testicular cancer charity Balls to Cancer.

Mr Whitbread will not meet the winner until she arrives at the airport on 16 February, "to make it a bit more fun".

He has decided not to publicly reveal her identity until then, but hopes they get on.

Bidding was only open to women because Mr Whitbread said it "didn't really seem like a lads' holiday" and that he would be able to appreciate it more with a woman.

"I thought it might give someone the opportunity to have a cheap holiday; someone who deserves it," he said.

"I think it helps because I'm doing it for charity.

"One of my friends said it's an adventure for someone so it's worth more than going on holiday on your own."

The auction attracted 105 bids on eBay.

"I'm nervous, I tell you," he said.

"At least she's had the opportunity to watch videos of me and stuff, but I haven't had a clue who was bidding."

Mr Whitbread, who works as a production operative at a brick plant, said he did not take one of his friends on the holiday because they are "all taken".

"I've worked hard for the last three or four months trying to pay the wedding off, and the holiday was what I was looking forward to," he said.