Boy, 4, bids to buy real train

A four-year-old boy bid the equivalent of £15,000 to buy a real train from public transport officials in New Zealand.

Metlink, the public transport arm of Greater Wellington Regional Council, thought its dreams had come true when it received an opening bid of $29,990 for the old train.

But it turned out the bid on the Trade Me auction website was from an enthusiastic child whose mother was alarmed at the prospect of owning a full-sized two-carriage train.

"I'm really sorry," the mum, whose username is smiley134 wrote in an email.

"My four-year-old was playing and placed a bid, I don't actually want to buy the train, can my bid please be removed?"

Metlink customer services manager Zelda MacKenzie replied: "For a moment I thought I was falling in love with you, smiley! But then you blew it all."

Trade Me allowed the bid for the English Electric train to be removed after warning smiley134 to start looking for loose change down the back of the sofa.

Ms MacKenzie said: "I find it fascinating, because when you bid on something you have to click two or three times to confirm. The child has to be exceptionally bright if they can read all that."

The train, which had operated in the Wellington area since the late 1940s, was taken out of service this week and put up for sale.