Nick Knowles' I'm a Celebrity pants auctioned for surgery funds

Nick Knowles' red "budgie smugglers" are to auctioned to raise money to pay for a teenager to have a life-changing operation.

The TV celebrity famously wore the tight-fitting swimming trunks on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

The auction will raise money for Luca Railton, from Bath, who was born without lower leg bones and needs £120,000 for an operation.

Luca said it was "exciting" to get publicity to help pay for the surgery.

Knowles wore the revealing pants in I'm a Celebrity... 2018, in which he survived 20 days in the jungle camp.

Luca's mother Teresa Railton, explained the host of the BBC programme DIY SOS was "a friend of a couple we know", and had agreed to donate the "budgie smugglers" for the online auction to raise money for the surgery fund.

Fifteen-year-old Luca has the rare condition Bilateral Tibial Hemimelia, which only affects about one in three million people.

He has already undergone several operations, after being born without a tibia and a knee on his right leg, and just a partial tibia on his left leg.

The family now needs to raise £120,000 for further surgery in the US to prevent future issues.

Luca's mother said: "As Luca grows he needs further tweaking to improve his mobility. Last October, it was confirmed he needed further surgery."

Referring to Knowles' pants, she added "a lot of people were talking about them on I'm a Celebrity... We're hoping they will raise thousands of pounds".

Luca, originally from Swindon, said it was "quite exciting to get all this publicity".

"I'd always take higher, but I'd be happy with whatever we get [in the auction]," he said.

"Every contribution helps."

The auction is due to end on 9 February.