A mountaineer has taken fundraising to new heights by legally changing his name to Teddy Bear for charity.

Daryl Lewis, aka “Teddy”, vowed to auction his name to the highest bidder on eBay to raise £5,000 to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

But after the man who made the highest offer on the shopping website backed out, he was forced to abandon the idea – until a colleague donated £930.

“He saved my whole plan and changed my name to Teddy Bear,” the 28-year-old laughed.

“I got my deed poll two weeks ago and I’ve notified my bank. Next week I’ll be changing it at work too.”

The money will go to the Make A Wish Foundation which grants a special wish to children and young people who are in a critical condition.

So far Teddy has raised just over £2,000 for the Tanzanian hike which he will set off for with his brother on Boxing Day.

“[My colleague] chose the name because I’m raising money for a children’s charity,” explained Teddy.

“So he thought it was appropriate, more so than something silly.

“I can’t thank him enough for the donation and I’m grateful because the name could have been a hell of a lot worse.

“My family don’t seem to mind too much. They are just happy that someone donated. After all the press this got originally, it’s good that it didn’t go to waste.”

Teddy works as a researcher for a shipbroker in the City and grew up on Crescent Road in Dagenham.

He’s trekked through the Peruvian mountains before so is no stranger to adventure – but says he’s never done anything as big as the African climb.

He needs to reach £3,500 to take part in the challenge but has set himself a personal target of £5,000.

On his JustGiving page friends poke fun at his new name, writing “Good luck Teddy” and “Have fun, Ted” alongside their donations.

“Because it took so long to sort out the paperwork it looks like I’ll be stuck with the name for more than a year now and I only planned to change it for 12 months,” Teddy admitted.

“I’m a bit nervous for the climb but, as long as I prepare, I think I’ll complete it.”

To contribute to Teddy’s charity of choice visit

justgiving.com/daryl86/