A WARM-hearted Stour-port nurse who raised £16,000 to care for life-limited children has become an eBay Powerseller around the world after her fund-raising efforts snowballed.

The internet sales system helped Lynne Beckett's nimble fingers to sew up the cross-stitch market for Acorns Children's Hospice.

The 35-year-old suffers from fibromyalgia which causes painful joints and muscles. She was forced to give up work and started to fill her time doing cross-stitch.

She donated items to the children's hospice at Worcester and raised £8,500 in five years, but since discovering eBay, has almost doubled that figure to £16,000 selling around the world from Canada to Hong Kong.

Her efforts have been recognised with the presentation of this month's eBay Powerseller award and her story has been featured on the auction website.

Mrs Beckett now sells cross-stitch sets, and other goods, ranging from bridesmaids dresses to curtains and books, as people have heard of her fund-raising work.

Local people have even started donating packaging, including bubble wrap and padded envelopes, to keep her costs to a minimum.

"I'm really proud to be a featured powerseller. All my time is donated so it's nice to be recognised.

"I absolutely love doing it. When it was first suggested I wondered if was worth bothering with but I started with just one item and the response was astonishing," she said.

One customer has just spent £800 - plus postage - buying more than 1,330 small cross-stitch cards which come free with cross-stitch magazines.

Mrs Beckett, of The Grove, added: "There isn't a country we haven't posted magazines and goods to. Someone in Spain bought 24 old cross-stitch magazines and was happy to spend £30 on postage. Using eBay has been a powerful tool for reaching a worldwide market.

"Every penny I raise is donated to Acorns, which encourages buyers to return to the Acorns4children charity auction site."

Some of her customers have even wanted to give a little extra and have gone to the Acorns own website - www.acorns.org.uk - and made a donation or paid donations into her PayPal account.

Anyone wishing to volunteer to help her or donate good quality crafts or general items for sale should contact her on 01299 829719.