| Re: Paddington bear stolen,now recovered Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 18:27, 3rd March 2025 |     |
From the BBC:
Criminal damage charges over Paddington statue
Two men have been charged after a Paddington Bear statue was damaged and taken from a bench.
The front of the sculpture was cut away and removed from its seat in Northbrook Street, Newbury, Berkshire at about 02:00 GMT on Sunday, according to Thames Valley Police. It was later recovered.
Daniel Heath, 22, from Thornton, West Yorkshire, and William Lawrence, 22 from Enderby, Leicestershire, were both charged with one count of criminal damage.
Both men have been released on conditional bail to appear at Reading Magistrates' Court on 25 March.
The statue of the Peruvian bear, holding a marmalade sandwich, was unveiled in the town in October.
Newbury was the home town of Paddington creator Michael Bond.
Newbury Business Improvement District (BID) brought the statue to Newbury, in partnership with StudioCanal, as part of its national Paddington Visits trail.
It was one of 23 models celebrating the children's character placed across the UK last year ahead of the launch of the film Paddington in Peru.
Thames Valley Police said the statue was due to be handed back to the owners for its restoration.
Two men have been charged after a Paddington Bear statue was damaged and taken from a bench.
The front of the sculpture was cut away and removed from its seat in Northbrook Street, Newbury, Berkshire at about 02:00 GMT on Sunday, according to Thames Valley Police. It was later recovered.
Daniel Heath, 22, from Thornton, West Yorkshire, and William Lawrence, 22 from Enderby, Leicestershire, were both charged with one count of criminal damage.
Both men have been released on conditional bail to appear at Reading Magistrates' Court on 25 March.
The statue of the Peruvian bear, holding a marmalade sandwich, was unveiled in the town in October.
Newbury was the home town of Paddington creator Michael Bond.
Newbury Business Improvement District (BID) brought the statue to Newbury, in partnership with StudioCanal, as part of its national Paddington Visits trail.
It was one of 23 models celebrating the children's character placed across the UK last year ahead of the launch of the film Paddington in Peru.
Thames Valley Police said the statue was due to be handed back to the owners for its restoration.
| Re: Paddington bear stolen,now recovered Posted by johnneyw at 09:54, 3rd March 2025 | |
from Newbury in Berkshire.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7egx029l9o
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7egx029l9o
From the photo it looks like the thieves have pretty much trashed it when cutting out it's front half. Hopefully repairable though.
The tent round the bench made it look somewhat reminiscent of a murder scene.....I wonder if this was something of a tongue in cheek gesture by the local police?
| Paddington bear stolen,now recovered Posted by infoman at 05:30, 3rd March 2025 | |
from Newbury in Berkshire.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7egx029l9o
