LONDON - A guitar signed by a host of rock legends, which was expected to raise thousands of dollars for a Leicestershire charity, has been lost in the mail.
Market Harborough music promoter Dave Allen, of Mad Hatter Concerts, had collected autographs of stars including Eric Clapton, Brian May and Jimmy Page on a Fender Stratocaster.
An online auction of the instrument was planned, with expectations of raising a significant amount of money for Rainbows children's hospice in Loughborough.
The charity guitar went missing after it was sent, via Parcelforce, from London to Market Harborough following the signature of Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler.
Allen told reporters that the loss was a "catastrophe," with the guitar having been lined up for auction at the end of this month.
"It really did have a 'who's who' of rock and roll on it," Allen said. "All the signatures were from A-listers.
"We had put in a lot of effort and were going to raise a lot of money, and we're absolutely devastated that this has happened. Parcelforce have said they will make a donation, but it in no way replaces what has been lost."
The project was launched in January this year and the guitar was due to be auctioned on the Internet once Bruce Springsteen and Keith Richards had added their signatures. Other names on the instrument included Pete Townshend, Bill Wyman and Gary Moore.
The promotions company used its extensive range of contacts in the music business to get signatures.
Last year, an autographed Stratocaster featuring the signatures of Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and Sting, among others, fetched a record $2.6 million.
Last month, the guitar was sent by Parcelforce from Knopfler's London office as a last resort, as no one from Allen's company could get to the capital to pick it up.
Over the past several weeks, Parcelforce has been searching all of its depots for the guitar, and examined CCTV footage. However, all parties have now accepted it may have disappeared for good.
A spokesman for Parcelforce said: "We apologize sincerely for the loss of this item and continue our efforts to trace the parcel. We've been in close contact with the organizers of the fund-raising event and have made a donation to Rainbows children's hospice as a gesture of goodwill."
Allen said his company would not be defeated by the loss, telling reporters, "We will get a new guitar and start from scratch again."
Rainbows is a charity that provides respite care to families with children who have a terminal illness.
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