Tinie Tempah buys Back To The Future shoes for £24k

Well we knew they wouldn't be cheap, and now we know exactly how badly a British rapper wanted the first pair of Back To The Future trainers.

Celebrity website TMZ is reporting British rapper Tinie Tempah snapped up the first pair of specially commissioned Nike trainers. But don't get your hopes up, they're still not available to us Brits; this was at a charity auction in L.A. on Thursday night.

Tempah paid a staggering $37,500 (£23,610) for the trainers. Let's just hope someone told him they don't have power laces.

And he wasn't even planning on buying them, he just got a bit carried away. Oh, to be a rapper. "It was a total spur of the moment decision," he said. "I was really touched in the moment by the presentation and next thing I knew I knew I owned these iconic sneakers."

He also said he was a huge shoe collector and massive Back To The Future fan, so the trainers "were an all-round great purchase that will go on to help [the Michael J. Fox Foundation]."

He added, "I feel fortunate to be able to help."

The trainers aren't fetching quite as high a price on eBay, currently selling for between $4,000 (£2,500) and $11,000 £6,925). 150 pairs will be on sale every day until 18 September, with all profits going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Google's co-founder Sergey Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki will match any donations to the foundation up to $50 million.

As predicted, Michael J. Fox made an appearance on Late Show With David Letterman to promote the trainers.

You may not be able to buy them in Blighty, but you can sate your appetite with our top 10 tech trainers feature.