WORCESTER will say a fond farewell to the St Richard's Hospice Elephants at an event next weekend.

The elephants, which were dotted around Worcester this summer, are being auctioned off to raise money for the charity.

Auctioneer Philip Serrell, best known for appearing on TV shows such as Bargain Hunt and Flog It, will help raise funds for St Richard’s Hospice.

Hosted at DRPG in Hartlebury on October 14, residents can buy tickets to attend the event or watch along from home.

The elephants are expected to start at £3,000 at auction, with the previous giraffe auction seeing prices between £4,000 and £15,000.

Barclays is supporting the auction of 31 elephants, with head of support at the Worcester branch saying: "Barclays has a strong relationship with the hospice and sponsored its giraffe trail auction three years ago which we found really rewarding.

"With a team of local business managers and relationship directors across the county, working within the local community, it seemed a natural fit to once again support a campaign which strikes a chord with so many people across the county."

All 30 of the large elephants and one, special ‘Spark-Ele’ calf sculpture will be auctioned – while the remaining 35 calves will be returned to the schools and groups which decorated them.

Sara Matthews, business development manager for St Richard’s Hospice, said: “We’re thrilled to have the support of Barclays once again and we look forward to enjoying the auction night with the team, with bidders able to join us in person or from the comfort of their own sofas via a livestream.

“After a challenging time for many charities during the pandemic, we hope to see some competitive bidding from prospective buyers, helping us to continue to be there for patients and their loved ones when they need us.”

To find out more about the auction, go to worcestersbigparade.co.uk/auction/

Worcester’s Big Parade is a Wild in Art project, brought to the city by St Richard’s Hospice.

It is supported by partners Crowngate, Worcester City Council, Worcester Business Improvement District (BID), DRPG, West Midland Safari Park, the Worcester News and BBC Hereford & Worcester.