A BROMLEY girl who auctioned herself on eBay for charity this Valentine’s Day has seen the highest bidder refuse to pay.

Hope Anscomb, of Valley Road, said she messaged the winner after his £621 ended up in pole position for the February 14 date. But after numerous attempts to get in touch, she was met with no response.

The 24-year-old said the user, under the name of ‘motor-shares-ltd’, had won after another had retracted their £650 bid and so the slot went to the next in line.

But after the auction closed on Tuesday, days went by with no contact from her would-be romantic encounter and Miss Anscomb said she called for the website to help.

Miss Anscomb said she was told to raise an ‘unpaid item case’ and the bidder today sent an email saying he “didn’t want the date” and had no intention of paying up.

Miss Anscomb said: “Obviously it was a really fun thing to do – everyone was really excited to find out who it was and now it’s turned into debt recovery.

“It’s not really in the spirit of charity or Valentine’s Day. Hopefully they’ll have a conscience and pay.”

She said the most important thing is securing the money for The Autism Trust, an organisation she’s been fundraising for since September and could now lose out on “vital funds”.

But she admitted her Valentine’s Day has been spoilt too: “I’m dateless – after all that it’s not got a happy ending.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do – I might go to my friend’s birthday, if not I’ll be in front of the TV eating ice cream, Bridget Jones-style.”

Now, Miss Anscomb said she’ll give the drop-out until the end of the day to do the right thing – adding she’ll do all she can to see the money go to the organisation. 

The user has retracted bids eight times over the last six months, according to the website. Spokesman Steven Haywood, from eBay, said: "We're sorry to hear about the case. We're looking into it to see if we can help."