IT is not all sheepskin coats and bacon sandwiches in the world of auction houses. BCA Birmingham brought a touch of glamour to the industry with a charity Lombard sale at the end of 2002 which saw Birmingham's general manager Mark Jones 'licensed to sell' as James Bond, while document controller Rhea Worrell dressed as a Bond girl.

The auction, in which Lombard gave more than £1,500 to local blind and disability charity Focus, sold nearly 200 cars. A similar sale at BCA Newport raised more than £1,000 for a nearby special needs unit.

Ian Trapp, Lombard's head of remarketing, said: 'Our end-of-year programme with BCA has become a regular and well- supported fixture and never fails to return strong conversions. This year was highly successful thanks to the hard work of BCA and the presentation of the vehicles.'