READERS have only days left to bid for the chance to feed these cute meerkats during a cracking day out at a North Yorkshire theme park and zoo.

One of the lots in an auction being organised for the City of York Afghanistan Commemorative Appeal is a family ticket for four people to go to Flamingo Land near Pickering this summer.

The day includes a half-hour ‘hands-on animal encounter’ with creatures such as meerkats, ring-tailed lemurs, giraffes and penguins.

People would go into the enclosures to feed the lemurs or meerkats, or feed the giraffes from an adjacent enclosure, or feed the penguins from a viewing platform by the poolside.

The treat can normally be bought for £190 but readers can bid as little or as much as they want.

Other lots available include a chance to ring the 10 ¾ tonne noontime bell at York Minster, followed by a standard tour for up to 10 people of the Minster’s Stoneyard and East End, and also a chance to ride to York’s Mansion House in the Lord Mayor’s chauffeur driven limousine (from within the City of York Council boundaries) before a tour of the Mansion House and afternoon tea with the Lord Mayor.

Money raised will go towards a stained glass window at a city centre church to recognise the service of thousands of York men and women in Afghanistan over the past decade – including three servicemen who were killed in action

*To bid, call Mike Laycock on 01904 567132 or email afghanappealauction@thepress.co.uk by no later than noon on Friday.