Pudsey yard crane bid nets �1,600

He's waiting at the top. The BBC's Mike McKimm and Pudsey at the top of Samson

It's costing him �1,600 but Newry man Gerard Rice will be having the ultimate driving experience, with Pudsey as his co-driver.

The charitable-hearted bear is already waiting in the cockpit of the 300ft Samson crane at Harland & Wolff in Belfast.

The yard teamed up with BBC Children in Need to auction off a once-in-a-lifetime chance to operate the crane.

After four days of bidding Mr Rice made the highest offer during a live on-air auction on Hugo Duncan's Country Afternoon on BBC Radio Ulster on Thursday.

Sitting in a tiny glass capsule, Gerard will get to press the buttons and pull levers that operate Samson and lift up loads, the first member of the public to ever take the behemoth's controls.

BBC Northern Ireland's Mike McKimm, who helped set up the offer with Harland & Wolff, said he was in for a great adventure.

"The generosity of Northern Ireland people never fails to amaze me," he said.

"Mr Rice is in for a great adventure in a very dramatic location. Pudsey is already up there in the crane waiting for him."

This year's BBC Children in Need is on Friday on BBC One Northern Ireland from 1900 GMT, presented by Stephen Nolan and Zoe Salmon at the King's Hall in Belfast.

Last year on the night, BBC Children in Need in Northern Ireland raised �606,399 from pledges and donations, part of the UK total of �19,089,771 which grew to a final total of over �37m.

In Northern Ireland this year, a total of �3.2m in grants was distributed to 284 groups and organisations working with disadvantaged children and young people.

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