A CONSULTANT, who worked at Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon until he was suspended, is now one of six people banned for life from trading on eBay. The auction site has announced the move after an investigation into shill bidding - the practice of bi

A CONSULTANT, who worked at Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon until he was suspended, is now one of six people banned for life from trading on eBay.

The auction site has announced the move after an investigation into shill bidding - the practice of bidding by people known to the seller to force up the price of goods.

Eftis Paraskevaides who lives in Godmanchester, refused to comment this week, but in the past has vehemently denied shill bidding.

However, eBay said its records show that an account in the name of Mr Paraskevaides's ex-wife, Catherine Lumb was used to bid up the price of items that he was selling.

As reported by The Hunts Post last week, Mr Paraskevaides became one of eBay's top earners - a "Titanium PowerSeller" - with a turnover of £1.4million.

The 50-year-old sold antiquities on a site called BidAncient. Computer records, eBay said, show that the site took bids from Ms Lumb's eBay account - "Cathlumb" - on at least 400 items.

Mr Paraskevaides and his ex-wife are among six users now permanently banned from the site after The Sunday Times passed its investigations into bidding to eBay.

Ms Lumb, who runs a cafe in Emsworth, Hampshire, has said that the account was one of two she controlled but that she had not used it for a year.

Mr Paraskevaides, who worked as a gynaecologist at Hinchingbrooke Hospital until 2000, has also said that he had no idea his former wife's account had been used to bid for any of his items.