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The Independent
09-04-2025
- The Independent
Vandalised Paddington Bear statue returns to town after being repaired
A Paddington Bear statue which was destroyed by vandals has been fully repaired and returned to its home town. The sculpture in Newbury, Berkshire, was damaged last month when two Royal Air Force engineers broke it in half after a night out and made off with part of it. Daniel Heath and William Lawrence, both 22 and engineers at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, were sentenced for criminal damage at Reading Magistrates' Court and ordered to pay £2,725 each towards the costs of repairing it. The rebuilt statue was unveiled in the town centre on Wednesday, with locals expressing their joy at the beloved character being brought back home. Among those at the unveiling ceremony was Anthony George, who said he was 'devastated' when the statue was damaged and decided to immortalise Paddington with a tattoo on his leg. The 64-year-old, from Hungerford in Berkshire, said he got the tattoo three weeks before the official return of the statue to Newbury. 'I'm very proud of it,' he said. 'I just want to symbolise what a wonderful fictional character Paddington is. 'I grew up with Paddington, so it means a lot. 'It clearly says on his name tag 'Look after me', or words to that effect, and hopefully people will adhere to that: be kind. 'Unfortunately the other two that vandalised it weren't very kind.' He added: 'When I heard what happened, I was absolutely devastated. 'Such a shame and everyone loves Paddington – apart from Daniel and William. My dad was in the RAF, they're in the RAF – my dad would have been mortified.' CCTV footage played to the court showed the men approaching the statue late at night before ripping the bear off its bench and walking away with it. District judge Sam Goozee condemned Heath and Lawrence's actions, calling them 'the antithesis of everything Paddington stands for'. Inspector Alan Hawkett, from Thames Valley Police, said the success of the investigation into the vandalism came from 'a real community effort'. He said: 'It wouldn't have been possible without the help of the community: people posting on the Facebook pages, reporting what they had seen and what they heard, the town centre businesses checking their CCTV for us, the local taxi companies as well. 'It was a real community effort that brought about the return of Paddington.' Marc Giles and Ty Cosway, from the Special Constabulary team, said they worked for 15 continuous hours to retrieve the broken half of the Paddington Bear statue. 'When we arrived on the scene, it was about three seconds before someone approached us and said 'Oh, you're here for Paddington',' Mr Giles said. Mr Cosway added: 'Some kids were coming up to us while we were walking from business to business doing our CCTV inquiries, and you start to get a bit more of an idea of the impact. 'It might seem on the surface as a localised case of criminal damage, but the community impact was massive.' Mr Giles said: 'We ourselves were shocked by it, and it made us feel even more proud to have brought him back.' After the interview, a little boy came to hug the two constables and said: 'Thank you for bringing him home.' Dominika Zydron, 39, who lives in Newbury, attended the unveiling ceremony with her two children Joanna, nine, and Stasiu, four. She said: 'We came here especially to see him and welcome him home. We are very excited. 'We walk by this road every single day and say hello to Paddington, so when he was missing it was very sad for us.' Kerrie Newton, 49, also from Newbury, came to see the repaired statue with her daughter Evelyn, nine, and her son Henry, six. She said: 'It's great to have him home. 'He's brought a lot of joy to Newbury when he was first here and it really upset everybody in town that he was sadly taken from us. 'It means a lot that he's come back quickly. 'It's a little bit of happiness in this crazy world.' Michael Bond, the author and creator of Paddington, was born in Newbury. The statue is one of 23 located across the UK and Ireland as part of the Paddington Visits Trail.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Yahoo
Vandalised Paddington Bear statue returns to town after being repaired
A Paddington Bear statue which was destroyed by vandals has been fully repaired and returned to its home town. The sculpture in Newbury, Berkshire, was damaged last month when two Royal Air Force engineers broke it in half after a night out and made off with part of it. Daniel Heath and William Lawrence, both 22 and engineers at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, were sentenced for criminal damage at Reading Magistrates' Court and ordered to pay £2,725 each towards the costs of repairing it. The rebuilt statue was unveiled in the town centre on Wednesday, with locals expressing their joy at the beloved character being brought back home. Among those at the unveiling ceremony was Anthony George, who said he was 'devastated' when the statue was damaged and decided to immortalise Paddington with a tattoo on his leg. The 64-year-old, from Hungerford in Berkshire, said he got the tattoo three weeks before the official return of the statue to Newbury. 'I'm very proud of it,' he said. 'I just want to symbolise what a wonderful fictional character Paddington is. 'I grew up with Paddington, so it means a lot. 'It clearly says on his name tag 'Look after me', or words to that effect, and hopefully people will adhere to that: be kind. 'Unfortunately the other two that vandalised it weren't very kind.' He added: 'When I heard what happened, I was absolutely devastated. 'Such a shame and everyone loves Paddington – apart from Daniel and William. My dad was in the RAF, they're in the RAF – my dad would have been mortified.' CCTV footage played to the court showed the men approaching the statue late at night before ripping the bear off its bench and walking away with it. District judge Sam Goozee condemned Heath and Lawrence's actions, calling them 'the antithesis of everything Paddington stands for'. Inspector Alan Hawkett, from Thames Valley Police, said the success of the investigation into the vandalism came from 'a real community effort'. He said: 'It wouldn't have been possible without the help of the community: people posting on the Facebook pages, reporting what they had seen and what they heard, the town centre businesses checking their CCTV for us, the local taxi companies as well. 'It was a real community effort that brought about the return of Paddington.' Marc Giles and Ty Cosway, from the Special Constabulary team, said they worked for 15 continuous hours to retrieve the broken half of the Paddington Bear statue. 'When we arrived on the scene, it was about three seconds before someone approached us and said 'Oh, you're here for Paddington',' Mr Giles said. Mr Cosway added: 'Some kids were coming up to us while we were walking from business to business doing our CCTV inquiries, and you start to get a bit more of an idea of the impact. 'It might seem on the surface as a localised case of criminal damage, but the community impact was massive.' Mr Giles said: 'We ourselves were shocked by it, and it made us feel even more proud to have brought him back.' After the interview, a little boy came to hug the two constables and said: 'Thank you for bringing him home.' Dominika Zydron, 39, who lives in Newbury, attended the unveiling ceremony with her two children Joanna, nine, and Stasiu, four. She said: 'We came here especially to see him and welcome him home. We are very excited. 'We walk by this road every single day and say hello to Paddington, so when he was missing it was very sad for us.' Kerrie Newton, 49, also from Newbury, came to see the repaired statue with her daughter Evelyn, nine, and her son Henry, six. She said: 'It's great to have him home. 'He's brought a lot of joy to Newbury when he was first here and it really upset everybody in town that he was sadly taken from us. 'It means a lot that he's come back quickly. 'It's a little bit of happiness in this crazy world.' Michael Bond, the author and creator of Paddington, was born in Newbury. The statue is one of 23 located across the UK and Ireland as part of the Paddington Visits Trail.
The Guardian
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Repaired Paddington Bear statue unveiled in Newbury after vandalism
Never has the label hung around Paddington's neck reading 'please look after this bear' been so pertinent. On Wednesday morning, a repaired statue of the Peruvian ursine was unveiled in Newbury, Berkshire, after it was damaged by two Royal Air Force engineers out on a bender. Daniel Heath and William Lawrence, both 22 and engineers at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, were sentenced for the offence at Reading magistrates court in March with the judge telling the men they were 'the antithesis of everything Paddington stands for'. Michael Bond, the author and creator of Paddington, was born in Newbury and the court heard this added to the cultural significance of the statue. People cheered on the high street in Newbury as the chair of the Newbury improvement district, Ian Batho, and the vice-chair, Ashley Morris, removed the veil that covered the repaired statue. Among those who came to see the unveiling was Anthony George, who had been so devastated by the act of vandalism he had the marmalade-loving cub tattooed on his leg. George, 64, from Hungerford in Berkshire, said: 'I wouldn't miss [the unveiling] for the world.' He said of his tattoo: 'I just want to symbolise what a wonderful fictional character Paddington is. I grew up with Paddington, so it means a lot. 'It clearly says on his name tag 'look after me', or words to that effect, and hopefully people will adhere to that: be kind. Unfortunately the other two that vandalised it weren't very kind.' Heath and Lawrence were told to pay £2,725 each towards the costs of repairing the statue. They were also sentenced to a 12-month community order and required to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work. Bond's creation has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity over the last decade since the release of a trilogy of live-action movies, which have reportedly grossed nearly $800m (£625m) worldwide.
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.
