Wandsworth's biggest school for autistic children is auctioning off 10 special tickets for a sell-out concert to see one of their most famous patrons.

Mark Owen of Take That donated the VIP seats for the band's Wembley show on July 5 to the Rainbow School for children with autism, which will be auctioned off in pairs on to help raise money for the school's charity.

The first pair will be listed today (May 30) at 9am, with the remaining pairs becoming available throughout the week.

Bids for the final pair will close on June 5 (Sunday) at 11pm.

Mr Owen, 39, got involved with the school in September last year after being bowled over by the children and staff when he paid them a visit.

He said: “Last summer I was approached by a friend and neighbour who has a son with autism and she introduced me to a friend of hers, whose son goes to Rainbow School.

"Rainbow School was, unbeknown to me, literally only yards away from my front door and so after taking a tour of the school, meeting the children and its founder Karen, I decided that I’d really like to help in whatever way possible to support these amazing people.”

Rainbow was founded in 2000 with the objective of establishing a centre of excellence for the education and support of children with autism and related disorders.

The school has two sites, one in Lane, Tooting, and its newest centre in Wandsworth Common opened in September last year.

Karen Sorab, CEO and founder of The Rainbow Charity, said: “Mark has a wonderful rapport with the children - it’s been such a huge morale boost for our staff and the parents. Everyone’s thrilled to have him involved and creating an awareness of what we do.”