A BIDDING battle is being waged on eBay - over a slice of bread.
BOD - an anonymous mischief-maker from Weymouth - has put a slice of 'Brexit' toast up for auction to highlight the current national food shortage. All money raised is being donated to a local food bank.
As Brexit-related supply chain issues made headlines this week, BOD has been entertaining Weymouth shoppers with his 'Brexit Range,' which he creates by sticking spoof product labels over food packaging before placing the items onto supermarket shelves around the town.
BOD's oddities include tins of 'Hamster in White Sauce;' packets of 'Powdered Wasps,' and 'Light and fragrant House Flies - perfect to sprinkle over chips and soup'.
However it is a humble slice of bread that is attracting the most attention.
Toasted with a Union Jack design and bearing the logo of a national supermarket chain on its packaging, the slice has caused a flurry of activity on social media as hundreds of Twitter users have been sharing the image and debating whether 'Brexit Toast' is a work of satire or a genuine product - with BOD later putting said item up for auction on eBay with a starting price of £5.
"I was doing a spoof Brexit Range of foods and shopdropping - which is the opposite of shoplifting," BOD explained.
"Then I thought, what better way to highlight the desperation to fill shelves, than with the most basic of food - toast.
"I scorched a Union Jack onto it and bagged it up, dropping it in the supermarket for a chuckle on my Instagram page. Then I thought it would be fun to put it on eBay to see if anyone would fall for it. And people did.
"So then I decided to give it further depth and give the proceeds to a local food bank."
At the time of writing the slice of toast has had 19 bids, raising at least £36 after two days - although the auction site does not reveal the highest bid placed.
"At the end of the day, it's made a lot of people laugh and is raising money for the foodbank. All good," BOD added.
"I've no idea how well it will do - but 'every little helps' as one of my targeted supermarkets says. If another good idea gets as much attention in future then I'll auction again for the foodbanks."
The listing can be found on eBay by clicking here.
BOD added: "The funniest thing out of this so far was getting a private message from a local supermarket staff member, asking if I had 'updated' a few tins in their store.
"She told me that part of the team meeting that day was about cans of 'Hamster in White Sauce' that were discovered on the shelves, with a photo going round. The attention to detail was applauded apparently and the staff member was sad when told they had to be removed."
It comes after Tesco chairman John Allan issued a warning that Brexit-related supply chain disruption could see Christmas food shortages, while Co-op bosses say food shortages are at the "worst level" ever seen.
Pub chain JD Wetherspoons also revealed it is facing a beer shortage due to Brexit, while several national fast food chains have also reported widespread stock issues.
BOD is on Instagram: @bod_uk
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