A dearth of entries in a ‘be a photojournalist’ contest run by a Hitchin-based website has prompted it to offer the prize in a charity auction.

Steve Biggs entered the competition run by Fleet Street’s Finest, a which hosts national newspaper photographs, to try to help drum up interest – but nobody else took part.

Now company director Bret Painter-Spanyol has offered the prize of a classique-sized framed print for auction, with money to go to Every Mother Counts – a pregnancy and childbirth charity for which Steve ran the Paris Marathon on Sunday.

Bret said: “I can only presume there was seasonal fatigue with it being around run around the Christmas period. Subsequently I’ve spoken to astonished friends, who wished ‘they’d only known!’”

The charity auction is online until 9pm this Sunday night. Help the charity and possibly pick up a bargain at jumblebee.co.uk/everymothercounts.