WHEN schoolboy Christopher Hawkins went to a London auction armed with a pair of David Beckham's boots, he thought he would come back thousands of pounds richer.

But although the world famous footballer may be worth millions, his boots barely raised an eyebrow at the Christie's football auction, fetching only £1,762.

Christopher, 12, from Exmouth Street, and his mum Lynn, 51, got up before the crack of dawn to make their way to South Kensington, hoping their lot would catch the eye of rich Beckham fans.

But it turned out that the boots, which opened the bidding at £500, attracted only two bidders at yesterday's sale.

Lynn, who works at the Bath Road Museum in Old Town, said: "We would have liked to have got a little bit more as we thought there would be lots of Japanese collectors there.

"But we are quite pleased with the amount they raised.

"There was massive media interest in the sale as Beckham is so popular at the moment.

"The boots were entered in the auction quite late so maybe people didn't know about it and that's why they didn't get much."

Christopher's dad Peter, 56, stayed at home in Old Town but said he was chuffed to hear they raised what they had.

"It's not even the money so much as the experience," he said.

"There aren't many people who have had a look round Christie's and had the excitement of being involved in such a good auction.

"At the end of the day the boots are just boots.

"If they don't fit you and you can't play around in them they aren't much good to you."

The size eight match-worn boots were from the 1997-8 season and had a number two on the heel and the word Becks embroidered on the tongues.

Christopher won the boots through an internet competition two years ago.

The owners of the Funplanet website bought the black, red and white Adidas Predator boots for £13,721 in March 2000.

This time around they were snapped up by two Estonian businessmen who are setting up a football memorabilia museum in their home country.

"They asked if they could keep in touch with us," Lynn said.

"Finances are a bit tight at the moment but it would be lovely to go over there and visit the museum at some point in the future."

Christopher, a pupil at Commonweal School, is now hoping to spend some of the cash on a new telescope.

And Patrick Moore, the stargazing celebrity, has offered Christopher his expert advice when it comes to choosing the best model.

After the auction, Christopher and his mum took in some of the sites around the capital city, including a visit to the Natural History Museum.

The biggest seller at yesterday's auction was the Coppa Italia, awarded to Torino Football Club after they won the competition for the second time in 1943. It fetched £47,000.

A football used in the 1888 cup final between West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End set a new world record for ball sales when it raised £32,900.

But a number six Fulham shirt worn by England legend Bobby Moore in his last English league match in 1977 did not sell after it failed to reach the reserve price.

www.christies.com