A charity auction is to be held for a unique charm bracelet inspired by the Harry Potter novels.

The lot will be sold at Sotheby’s of London and is expected to fetch between £15,000 and £20,000, with all proceeds going to J.K. Rowling’s charity, Lumos.

The organisation aims to end the institutionalisation of children, creating community based services that provide access to health, education and social care.

The sterling silver bracelet which features 11 Harry Potter-themed charms and the charity’s butterfly logo, will be sold today.

Teen runs up €1,385 phone bill

A teenager who ran up an eye-watering £1,158 (€1,385) phone bill voting on TV show I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! has had to forfeit a chunk of her Christmas money to help pay the cost.

College student Nicole Hassall was unaware she was incurring charges when she repeatedly rang the ITV show’s voting line on her mobile, with the enormous bill only becoming apparent when her telephone operator sent her mother a warning by text message.

The 18-year-old’s mother, Eileen Hassall, who is also the bill payer, said she wanted people to be aware how quickly charges can build up, after now facing the prospect of paying a huge bill at Christmas time.

Meanwhile, mobile phone company Orange said it would halve the bill as a gesture of goodwill.

Helmet for ‘Mary’ on donkey

Reports that a child will be forced to wear a helmet while on a donkey playing Mary in a nativity pageant are taking everyone for a ride, an organiser is claiming.

“Elf and safety” outrage has found a new focus in the latest example of the nanny state apparently ruining another time-honoured British tradition. But an organiser insisted that some reports of the pageant had been partially “sexed up” in pursuit of another tradition – health and safety bashing.

Far from being forced to take unnecessary steps, he has acted independently to ensure the safety of a schoolgirl Mary, he said. The public nativity pageant will take place in Neath, South Wales, involving a real donkey ridden by a local eight-year-old.

While the need to wear a riding hat might detract somewhat from the overall effect, the protective headgear is likely to be shrouded under a costume.

Super cockroach in New York

A new breed of cockroach that can withstand harsh winter cold and has never previously been seen in the US has been found in New York.

Biologists said the species Periplaneta japonica is well documented in Asia but had never been confirmed in the United States.

They said it was too soon to predict the impact of the discovery but there is probably little cause for concern because the insects will compete with existing cockroaches for space and food.

Santa’s reindeer breaks free

A reindeer broke free from Santa Claus at a US shopping mall. While Santa was inside La Riva Mall in Dillon, Colorado, listening to children’s Christmas wish lists, the reindeer jumped out of its enclosure, leading police on a jog through town.

It was found on the far side of a nearby reservoir and officers used another reindeer to lure it back into a trailer.