Bent beach ball auctioned off

Newspaper the News of the World won a fierce bidding war to secure the inflatable sphere - thrown on to the pitch by a Liverpool fan - which caused mass controversy at the Stadium of Light on October 17 after the former Tottenham Hotspur forward's fifth-minute effort deflected in off it.

The publication has donated the ball to the Alder Hey Imagine Appeal after obtaining it from a Reds' supporter.

The auction opened at 12pm on Saturday November 9 on eBay and will run for seven days.

To place a bid click here

Alder Hey Imagine Appeal was launched in 2005 and supports the amazing work of Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, which cares for 250,000 patients every single year.

The busiest children’s hospital in Europe and treats patients for everything from broken bones to more complex conditions such as cancer and congenital heart disease.

The Appeal aims to raise around £3 million every year to improve the quality of life for children in hospital by enhancing the environment to providing facilities for patients and their families.

In addition, Imagine funds the most advanced medical equipment and research into those conditions our children suffer from today, in the hope that they won't in the future.