When Stephen Sirrell settles down on his new sofa he will be joining the ranks of some of the most influential men and women in the world.

Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher and Nelson Mandela have all sat on it.

For ten years the pale yellow sofa and accompanying chair have sat comfortably in the studios of BBC's Breakfast With Frost show.

Mr Sirrell paid £9,000 for the suite after competing in a frantic online auction organised by the BBC to raise money for Children In Need.

Now he hopes to use the sofa to raise even more cash for charity.

Mr Sirrell, 47, of Western Street, Brighton, decided to take part in the auction after hearing about it on BBC Breakfast News.

He said: "I always watch David Frost on a Sunday morning and I thought it would be amazing to own his sofa.

"At first I told myself I couldn't afford it, then I thought if people spend £10,000 on a car, why can't I buy something unique and do something great for charity at the same time?"

Mr Sirrell, a former fashion designer and art teacher, visited the BBC web siteand set himself a £20,000 limit.

Bidding had reached £7,200 when he entered the race with a £7,300 offer.

A rival swiftly topped him with £7,305, to which Mr Sirrell responded with a £7,355 offer.

He went to bed that night safe in the knowledge his bid had not been beaten. But when he awoke on Thursday, November 20, he logged on to the internet to find a £15,000 bid had been lodged.

He said: "I really wanted the sofa but I just didn't know what to do."

To his surprise, however, BBC presenters referring to the sofa that morning said the highest bid was still his £7,355 offer.

The situation was made clear to Mr Sirrell when the BBC called to ask if his bid was serious.

They said they were unable to accept the £15,000 offer because the bidder had not left a contact number.

He said: "They asked me if I was still okay with the bid and I said I was.

"I felt like I was having a nervous breakdown - I wanted the sofa so much."

The deadline for bids was 6pm the following day but Mr Sirrell had no idea if he had won.

He said: "It was so nerve wracking. I was running around the house screaming and must have lost so much weight with the stress of it all."

When he discovered his £9,000 bid was the last, he was thrilled.

"I couldn't believe it," he said. "I was flabbergasted."

Mr Sirrell will collect the sofa later this month and plans to store it at a friend's house just outside Brighton.

He has also been given signed pictures of Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Premier Margaret Thatcher and former South African president Nelson Mandela, sitting on the sofa.

Other famous names to have graced its cushions include Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachov and former prime minister John Major.

Mr Sirrell wants to raise cash for the National Canine Defence League through his local pub, the Temple Bar in Western Road.

He said: "I have been very fortunate. Now I want to use this sofa to make even more money for good causes."

Mr Sirrell remains tight-lipped about how he was able to afford it.

He refused to reveal what he does for a living and said: "Funny, that's what my friends are always asking."