IN KEEPING with the spirit of Christmas, there is going to be a happy ending to the story about the Scunthorpe Santa who got the sack.

For the bell that landed St Nick, aka Norman Robinson, in hot water is to be sold to the highest bidder in an on-line auction.

And all the proceeds will help make this Yuletide a little happier for terminally ill residents at the town's Lindsey Lodge Hospice.

Head of fundraising Mel Banham said the auction went live from 7pm last night on the organisation's own eBay shop called Lindsey Lodge Charity Charms.

Mr Banham added: "We are asking for a starting bid of £2.99 and the auction will go live for 10 days.

"We're pleased there is a kind of happy ending to this tale and it's kind of the shop owner to think of us."

As previously reported, North Lincolnshire Council last week responded to a complaint about Santa's bell-ringing outside the Credit Crunch store.

Proprietor Mark Fish who was reminded to be more considerate at Christmas switched the original bell for a smaller and less-noisy model.

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