WHITNEY HOUSTON - HOUSTON ITEMS BEING AUCTIONED TO SETTLE 'UNPAID' BILLS

Hundreds of items owned by WHITNEY HOUSTON are being auctioned off by a New Jersey storage facility after claiming the singer hasn't paid her bills since 2005. Speed Of Sound applied for a court order to auction Houston's belongings after the ONE MOMENT IN TIME star's company Nippy Inc reportedly failed to pay storage costs of $150,000 (GBP76,000). Among the items being sold are designer clothing from Houston's 1999 My Love Is Your Love tour, a $292,500 (GBP150,000) grand piano, keyboard, drum kits, a forklift, a concert stage set and sound equipment. The sale takes place next Tuesday (09JAN06) morning at AJ Willner Auctions in Irvington, New Jersey. Auctioneer STEVE NEWMARK says, "It's a warehouse full of stuff from her shows. "There's some pretty personal stuff in there. Even her underwear is in there. I was marvelling at the waist of some of these clothes. They were pretty small. "The auction is open to the public, but only for qualified buyers. We're probably going to combine a lot of the individual items, like the costumes. It's not for a teenage fan hoping to buy one of her trinkets." However, Houston's spokeswoman NANCY SELTZER claims many of the items are "not needed any more" and that, "She is selling equipment, as many artists do, that is out of date."