‘It’s so hard for young people to get on the property ladder so we think this could really be a blessing.’

The pair had gone along to the car boot sale on Bank Holiday Monday with Mr Flanaghan’s parents where they sold some of his old toys, including Beanie Babies.

Before putting the teddies in the pile, the couple looked online to check that none of the bears would count as collectors’ items.

The pair, from Launceston, Cornwall, are now hoping the sale of the bear will give them a deposit for a house

While online, they read up about a Princess Diana Di Beanie Baby, which can sell for huge amounts.

The range was created in December 1997 – the year the princess died – to raise money for the Princess of Wales Memorial Trust. It includes a poem on the tag which refers to Diana as an ‘angel’. 

But even when he spotted the bear at another seller’s stall, Mr Flanaghan had no idea whether it was a ‘first edition’ bear – which are incredibly rare – or a second edition, which sells for just £20.

They later discovered the bear was handmade in Indonesia in December 2007 with special PE pellets and wording on the tag, which refers to the Princess Of Wales Memorial Fund – all of which make it a first edition bear.

There is also a poem which reads: ‘Like an angel she came from heaven above; she shared her compassion, her pain, her love; she only stayed with us long enough to teach the world to share, to give, to reach.’  

Another first edition Diana bear, the same as the one belonging to Miss Rogers and Mr Flanaghan, is currently being listed on eBay for £62,500

Miss Rogers said: ‘Ryan and his sister used to collect Beanie Babies so before we sold a load we just wanted check that they weren’t worth anything.

‘As we were looking, we saw that this purple bear was the rarest bear and it was going for around £20,000. We didn’t think anything of it.

‘But when we went to the car boot sale the next day, Ryan went off for a walk and came back clutching this bag. He said: “It’s that bear that we saw on the internet last night”.’ 

The couple put it up for auction last night, with a starting bid of £20,000. 

A spokesman for Beanie fan club Ty Collector said only a handful of people know how many Process Bears were produced.  

BEANIE BABIES: THE CRAZE THAT DIDN’T LAST – EXCEPT FOR DIANA’S BEAR

The Beanie Babies were first introduced to the public in 1993, when creators Ty Warner Inc, which later became Ty Inc, launched its original line consisting of just nine characters.

Over the next few years however hundreds of different types of Beanie Baby were produced as they gained in popularity.

The company made an empire worth more than $6billion from the toys, boosted by the increase in people buying them as popular collectibles in 1995.

At the peak of the collecting craze, many believed the designs which had been ‘retired’ would rise in value. The craze however failed to last much longer than 1999.

Nowadays hundreds of the cuddly toys are sold on sites such as eBay – but they are not always worth as much money as collectors would originally have hoped. 

However, there are some which have certainly increased in price, including the ‘ultra rare’ Ty Princess Diana Di Beanie Baby, first edition, which can be sold for tens of thousands of pounds. 

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