By Alexander Lawrie
SCOTS pop stars Annie Lennox and Sharleen Spiteri have donated one of their own handbags to a cancer charity auction.
The ex-Eurythmics singer and the Texas front woman are just two of over 30 A-List celebrities who have given away one of their prized designer clutches in aid of Cancer Research UK.
Annie has donated her favourite bottletop handbag, while Sharleen has handed over a embroidered bag.
Other celebs involved in the handbag amnesty include Bafta-nominee Kiera Knightley, Oscar winner Dame Judi Dench and former X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne.
Hundreds of fans are expected to bid for the designer accessories when they are auctioned off on eBay between 3rd and the 14th of October.
Annie, 53, who has sold almost 80 million records worldwide, is a well-known charity campaigner, and her latest venture in aid of the African Aids epidemic has already raised hundreds of thousands of pounds.
All the proceeds of her current album, Songs of Mass Destruction, are going to help the SING charity.
The organisers of the auction, handbag.com, are also hunting for any unwanted handbags from the public to sell in the Cancer Research UK shops throughout Britain.
Throughout September the charity are urging members of the public to drop in any old or unwanted bags to their nearest cancer charity shop.
Claire Higgins, Head of Marketing at handbag.com, says: “As the leading lifestyle website for women in the UK, we are in the unique position of being able to reach more than 1.5 million women across the country.
“44,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK so we are very proud to be working with Cancer Research UK to help make a difference – not only by raising a lot of money to fund research into preventing breast cancer, but also by helping to raise much needed awareness of the illness.”
Paul Farthing, Director of High Value Relationships at Cancer Research UK, said: “We’re delighted to be working with handbag.com to launch Handbag Amnesty. The auction of celebrity handbags will be an exciting way to raise funds for our vital research into breast cancer.
“We also hope that by encouraging supporters to donate their own favourite handbag, and other unwanted quality items to our shops, we will be able to raise even more to help beat cancer.”
