Hospice staff are celebrating after their secret art auction became the largest charity auction ever run on eBay.

The Big Art Secret organised by St Wilfrid’s Hospice in Eastbourne raised more than £45,000 towards a new hospice.

The auction sold off 600 postcard-sized artworks by leading artists Tracey Emin and David Hockney, a host of top celebrities including David Cameron, Ronnie Corbett and David Dimbleby and amateur artists aged between four and 100.

The identities of the artists were kept secret from bidders and exhibited at the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne while the auction was held on eBay over ten days.

The auction received more than 15,000 bids from art lovers across the globe and is the biggest one-off fundraising event the hospice has held.

Auction organisers said that some artworks saw their price double or even treble in the final few minutes of the auction.

The auction was part of St Wilfrid’s two-year Campaign Hospice Reach, which aims to raise £5.3 million to furnish and equip the new 20-bed hospice currently under construction.

St Wilfrid’s chief executive Kara Bishop said: “We’re just thrilled by the generosity.

"We’ve had calls, emails and tweets from around the world.

"We’re delighted with the total raised , our biggest ever from one event.”