FOR almost 50 years the Blue Peter badge has been coveted by generations of middle-class children as an emblem of hard work and achievement. The tiny piece of enamel with its distinctive ship logo has inspired thousands to help worthy causes, write letters, stories and poems and paint pictures to send in to the BBC children’s programme.

But now it has fallen victim to unscrupulous eBay sellers, with some openly bragging that holders get free entry to more than 100 attractions, including London Zoo, Madame Tussaud’s, Legoland Windsor and the Eden Project. Cheating parents will pay up to £30 a badge to save money on family trips.

Edinburgh Zoo is losing so much money to the ruse that it is about to become the first attraction to end free entry for badgeholders. A spokesman said yesterday: “We are surprised and disappointed to find out these badges are being sold on eBay. As a result we are looking at discontinuing our free admission offer, which is a shame for those who did genuinely earn the badge.”

Jamie Dyer, of the Scottish Sea Life Centre in Oban, said that they had noticed a recent increase in the number of children seeking free entry with a Blue Peter badge. “We are proud to have offered free entry to genuine Blue Peter badge winners for the last 15 years. (But) it gets a bit ridiculous when you see gangs of kids turning up clutching battered 20-year-old badges that have clearly been bought for them by their parents.

“It completely devalues what is a genuine British institution. It is like buying an OBE so you can gatecrash the Queen’s garden party.”

The badges, which are now made of rubber, are awarded to about 10,000 viewers a year. The BBC said yesterday that it had taken action to stop the sale of fake badges on eBay and was working on ways of verifying genuine ones. A spokeswoman said: “The BBC investigations unit has been monitoring eBay over the past few months and has noticed badges being sold in large numbers by individual sellers. eBay has agreed to take them down as they are obviously fake.”

Yesterday 20 Blue Peter badges were for sale on eBay for between 99p and £30. One seller said on the website: “This genuine Blue Peter badge is in excellent condition as it has never been used. You and your family will save a fortune on days out . . . Check out the Blue Peter website to find out where.”

Last year Bob Geldof branded eBay, one of the world’s most successful dot-com companies, an “electronic pimp” for allowing tickets for the Live8 concert to be sold on the site. There has also been a growing number of complaints of fraud on the site concerning goods such as fake designer bags and people selling nonexistent items.

Celebrities who have been awarded a badge include David Beckham, Madonna, Ewan McGregor, Brad Pitt, Sir David Attenborough and the Queen. Gabby Logan, the TV sports presenter and Times columnist, is the proud holder of two Blue Peter badges which she won for achievements in gymnastics.

She said: “I find it sad that people are abusing the Blue Peter badge because so many children work very hard to get them. It is a shame that people would stoop so low as to buy them on eBay.”

The badges come in five ranks, from the blue badge given to children who contribute to the show to the rare gold badge awarded to youngsters who perform such feats as saving someone’s life.

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