The Shirt Off Mel’s Back

Props from the Mel Gibson epic Braveheart are to be sold at auction on the internet. The aim of the sale is to raise the money needed to save the historic site where Scottish hero William Wallace was captured by the British over seven centuries ago. Seorus Wallace, spokesman for the Clan Wallace, said the aim was to raise enough money to buy the derelict piece of land which, at present, is scheduled to be bulldozed and used for a housing development. At the moment the site, at Robroyston near Glasgow, is a considerable eyesore, littered with rubbish, abandoned cars and heroin addicts' discarded needles. "To me it's like a sacred site," Wallace told BBC Radio Scotland. "What we intend to do is turn it into a memorial park." Among the lots to be auctioned are two jackets worn by Gibson in the movie, tartan fabric from other costumes and an array of weapons used by extras in the spectacular battle scenes. It's hoped that auction will raise $360,000. It's encouraging then that the sword used by Mel Gibson in the 1995 Oscar-winning movie recently fetched $170,000 at a charity auction organized by Liam Neeson.