Latest news with #PaddingtonVisits
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Crowds cheer as repaired Paddington Bear unveiled
The unveiling of a repaired Paddington Bear statue has been met with applause and Odiham engineers Daniel Heath, from Thornton, near Bradford in West Yorkshire, and William Lawrence, from Enderby, Leicestershire, ripped Paddington from his bench in Newbury, Berkshire, in the early hours of 2 was recovered and repainted, and unveiled by Ian Batho and Ashley Morris from Newbury Business Improvement District (BID) on statue was unveiled in front of an applauding crowd, including pupils from John Rankin School, with BBC Radio Berkshire's Phil Mercer leading the countdown. The statue was originally unveiled in the hometown of Paddington creator Michael Bond in October was one of dozens put up across the UK as part of the Paddington Visits trail to celebrate the film, Paddington in and Lawrence, both 22 and based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, admitted criminal damage and were ordered to carry out unpaid work as well as pay £2,725 to cover the cost of repairs. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Repaired Paddington statue unveiled
A Paddington statue that was ripped from a bench by two RAF Odiham engineers has been repaired and unveiled. Daniel Heath, from Thornton, near Bradford in West Yorkshire, and William Lawrence, from Enderby, Leicestershire, removed part of the statue from its bench in Newbury, Berkshire, in the early hours of 2 March. It was recovered and repainted, and unveiled by Ian Batho and Ashley Morris from Newbury Business Improvement District (BID) at 11:30 BST. Chief executive officer Trish Willets said she was "so excited" about the return of the statue. "That fateful Sunday morning at half seven when we realised something awful had happened, we were beyond upset," she said. She said Newbury "came together in a moment of grief". "We had no idea that he was so, so loved by Newbury," she continued. "It's just been amazing and we are delighted with everyone's comments." She said the installation team worked behind the scenes "first thing in the morning, popping him back on his bench, making him all secure, polishing his little sandwich and his nose to get him all ready". As part of the unveiling, children were encouraged to write a letter welcoming Paddington back to Newbury. They can be delivered to a special postbox next to his bench until 14:00 on Wednesday. The statue was originally unveiled in the hometown of Paddington creator Michael Bond in October 2024. It was one of dozens put up across the UK as part of the Paddington Visits trail to celebrate the film, Paddington in Peru. Heath and Lawrence, both 22 and based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, admitted criminal damage and were ordered to carry out unpaid work as well as pay £2,725 to cover the cost of repairs. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Paddington vandals 'antithesis' of bear, says judge CCTV shows men vandalising Paddington Bear statue Paddington statue to return 'sooner rather than later' Paddington statue unveiled in creator's hometown Newbury BID
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Repaired Paddington Bear statue to be unveiled in Newbury
A Paddington statue that was ripped from a bench by two RAF Odiham engineers has been repaired and is set to be unveiled on Heath, from Thornton, near Bradford in West Yorkshire, and William Lawrence, from Enderby, Leicestershire, removed part of the statue from its bench in Newbury, Berkshire, in the early hours of 2 was recovered and repainted, and will be unveiled by Ian Batho and Ashley Morris from Newbury Business Improvement District (BID) at 11:30 executive officer Trish Willets said she was "so excited" about the return of the statue. "That fateful Sunday morning at half seven when we realised something awful had happened, we were beyond upset," she said Newbury "came together in a moment of grief"."We had no idea that he was so, so loved by Newbury," she said."It's just been amazing and we are delighted with everyone's comments." She said the unveiling would begin at 11:30 on Wednesday."The installation team will be working behind the scenes first thing in the morning, popping him back on his bench, making him all secure, polishing his little sandwich and his nose to get him all ready," she said."We're so excited."As part of the unveiling, children are being encouraged to write a letter welcoming Paddington back to can be delivered to a special postbox next to his bench between 10:00 and 14:00 on Wednesday. The statue was originally unveiled in the hometown of Paddington creator Michael Bond in October was one of dozens put up across the UK as part of the Paddington Visits trail to celebrate the film, Paddington in and Lawrence both 22 and based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, admitted criminal damage and were ordered to carry out unpaid work as well as pay £2,725 to cover the cost of repairs. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Vandalised Paddington bear statue to return to Newbury
A Paddington statue that was ripped from a bench by two RAF engineers is to be homage to the famous bear has been repaired and repainted and will be unveiled during a ceremony in Newbury, Berkshire, on of the statue was removed and taken in the early hours of 2 March by Daniel Heath and William pair, both 22 and based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, admitted criminal damage and were ordered to carry out unpaid work as well as pay £2,725 to cover the cost of repairs. The statue was originally unveiled in the hometown of Paddington creator Michael Bond in October was one of dozens put up across the UK as part of the Paddington Visits trail to celebrate the film, Paddington in repaired bear will be unveiled by Ian Batho and Ashley Morris from Newbury Business Improvement District (BID).Ben Beardmore-Gray, marketing manager at Newbury BID, said: "We have received so many lovely messages from parents who wanted to share how much their children have been missing Paddington..."...we are delighted to announce that Paddington is finally ready for his much-anticipated return to Newbury."The reinstallation offers a unique opportunity for us to provide a special moment that parents can share with their children, so we'd like to invite any families along on the day to join us welcoming Paddington home." As part of the unveiling, children are being encouraged to write a letter welcoming Paddington back to can be delivered to a special postbox next to his bench between 10:00 and 14:00 BST on Wednesday. The unveiling ceremony will begin on Northbrook Street at 11:30. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
BBC News
04-03-2025
- BBC News
Newbury BID working to 'bring Paddington statue back'
A Paddington Bear statue that was damaged and taken from a bench could be restored to 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 Morris, vice chair of Newbury Business Improvement District (BID), said: "It's still very new... but we're absolutely talking to StudioCanal and Premier Comms about bringing him back and restoring him."Two men have been charged with criminal damage. Mr Norris said the statue had become "part of the town" since it was unveiled in October 2024."Everyone knows and loves Paddington," he added."We want him to carry on being here part of Newbury and that's what we're going to work towards."The remains of the statue have been covered with a tent, with some people leaving sandwiches and jars of marmalade - Paddington's signature snack - outside. Newbury was the home town of Paddington creator Michael BID brought the statue to the town, in partnership with StudioCanal, as part of its national Paddington Visits 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 force said on Monday that Daniel Heath, 22, from Thornton, West Yorkshire, and William Lawrence, 22 from Enderby, Leicestershire, were both charged with one count of criminal damage in connection with the were released on bail until 25 March. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, and X.
