Minature works of art by celebrities have been sold at bargain prices.

Design students from the University of Brighton sold work by famous names as part of a postcard auction and raised £1,110.

Artist Cheryl Pitt Kennedy's black and white line drawing of birds decorated with fragments of gold leaf fetched £25.

Actress Emma Thompson's humorous portrayal of a pig wearing a thong sipping martini induced bidders to spend another £25, while astronomer Sir Patrick Moore's drawing of planets sold for £30.

The star lot was a limited edition U2 DVD and CD signed by lead singer Bono, which fetched £140.

Organiser Lucy Hutchings, 23, of Trafalgar Street, said: "The work by the artists, rather than the celebrities, seemed to be the most popular.

"People wanted to buy it so they had their own individual piece of art.

"Most of the cards sold for between £20 and £40 - people definitely got some bargains.

"The bidding was a bit slow at the start and I think we had a few sympathy bids but it did take off after a while.

"I ended up with nothing as the cards I had my eye on all went a bit out of control."

The students now have enough money to exhibit their work in the New Designers show at the Business Design Centre in Islington, North London, in July.