Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck signed T-shirts auctioned by Folly Wildlife Rescue near Tunbridge Wells
Published: 11:42, 28 July 2022
Updated: 15:28, 28 July 2022
Hollywood megastar Johnny Depp has donated limited edition signed memorabilia which has raised more than £11,000 in an auction for a Kent animal charity.
The 59-year-old visited the Folly Wildlife Centre, near Tunbridge Wells, last month whilst touring with guitarist and friend Jeff Beck.
The wildlife rescue centre went viral on Facebook after a picture was taken of Depp holding a badger during his visit.
Speaking to KentOnline, director Dave Risley said that everyone was "shell shocked" to meet the the Pirates of the Caribbean star, who arrived unexpectedly.
"Johnny was here for over an hour, and we gave him a tour of the whole place," he explained.
"He was very complementary and really seemed to enjoy it."
"Overall he was charming and polite – what you would call a southern gentleman."
Dave added: "We asked Johnny if he could donate some memorabilia for us to sell at our weekly auction.
"I believe him and Jeff have signed a T-shirt, which people can bid for and hopefully raise a lot of money for us."
Depp paid a visit to the site on June 2, after winning his multimillion-dollar US defamation lawsuit against former wife Amber Heard the day before.
Folly Wildlife centre also announced on their Facebook page that the star had agreed to become a patron of the rescue service, alongside Jeff Beck.
Depp and Beck have now donated 10 signed T-shirts, which are currently on auction on eBay.
Nine of the shirts so far have raised a total of £11,810 for the charity.
The shirts, which feature artwork from their upcoming album, 18, were designed by Jeff's wife, Sandra Beck.
Jeff wrote: "Thank you all for your support of Johnny and Folly Wildlife" and Johnny wrote: "All my thanks and respect".
One of the T-shirts was sold last Sunday for £1,700, with 47 bids.
The centre had to re-list a shirt after issues with fake bidders, who weren't willing to pay after winning the item.
They added: "If you are a new member of ebay and have zero feedback, please send us a message before bidding indicating you are a serious buyer.
"This is due to non-paying bidders on other listings who have bid just for fun and not paid at the end of the auction.
"If we don't hear from you, your bid will be deleted, in order to keep the auctions fair for everyone."
All the money raised from the auctions will go to The Southern Wildlife Care & Advisory Trust.
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