Proceeds from the auction will be given to Oxfam

Justin Kelly of Bristol put the water on the internet site eBay as a joke but when bids soared he decided to use the stunt to raise money for Oxfam.

More than 20,000 people visited the site during the seven-day auction which closed on Friday evening.

A total of 33 bids were received for the "fabulous bucket of Bristol tap water".

Bristol Water has said it will top up the fund with £200 towards the cause - the charity's water project in Sudan.

A week ago the bidding reached £1,220 but the auction had to re-start after being mistakenly shut down.

A customer support worker on the eBay site was unaware of the wide publicity surrounding the charity sale and thought it was a hoax.

Mr Kelly, 31, who when the story broke was known only as "juss01" or "Bucketman", said his original intention had been to see if people really would buy anything.