A giant sign bearing a regional daily’s name which was in place at its former home will be auctioned for charity after the title moved to new premises.

The Sunderland Echo moved from its Pennywell base in April to a new out-of-town office at Rainton Bridge and its old home was sold to kitchen and bathroom specialist Tecaz the following month.

Now the new owners have decided to sell the large Sunderland Echo sign on the outside the building and auction them on eBay to raise funds for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

The ‘Sunderland’ part of the sign, pictured below, is around 63ft wide, while the ‘Echo’ part is approximately 21ft wide and both are 10ft 6in high at their tallest.

The Echo reported that the giant letters were removed yesterday under the watchful eye of editor Joy Yates.

The sign was put up for auction yesterday on eBay and has already received a bid of more than £1,000.

Joy said: “It was a day of mixed emotions. Going back to our former site in Pennywell brought many memories flooding back.

“I hope Tecaz raises a lot of money for its chosen charity from the auction of the Sunderland Echo sign.

“Our editorial and commercial teams are now settled in to our new home in Rainton Bridge Business Park.”

Tecaz plans to turn the Echo’s former base, which comprised a 89,000 sq ft building and surrounding 5.6-acre site, into warehouse space and expects to create up to 60 jobs.

Catherine Porteous, manager for the bathroom and kitchen retailer, said: “We bought the former Sunderland Echo building in May this year, to complete our comprehensive cover of the North East.

“We didn’t want to see the signs go to waste and decided to give people the opportunity to bid for them with the money going to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

“The signs are huge but we’re hoping someone out there will be able to recycle them!

“We’ll be happy to help by delivering them locally and all the money raised will go towards Sir Bobby’s cancer charity.”

The Echo had been based at its Pennywell Industrial Estate for almost 40 years before moving to its new business park home and the sign was visible to motorists driving along the A19.

The newspaper’s historic clock, which kept time outside its past offices since the 1920s, was donated to the Beamish Museum when the title moved to its present home.

To view the eBay listing, click here.