AssetID: 54621927
Headline: RAW VIDEO: Newbury's Beloved Paddington Bear Statue Recovered By Police
Caption: A statue of beloved children’s character Paddington Bear has been recovered after it was stolen from its home in Newbury. The statue was unveiled in Newbury, Berkshire - the birthplace of Paddington creator Michael Bond - last October. Locals were distraught, however, when the front half of the statue disappeared at the start of March. Following a Thames Valley Police investigation, two Royal Air Force engineers were sentenced for damaging and stealing. Daniel Heath, aged 22, of Oakhall Park, Thornton, West Yorkshire, and William Lawrence, aged 22, of John Street, Enderby, Leicestershire, were sentenced to 12-month community orders after pleading guilty to one count of criminal damage at Reading Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (25March2025). Inspector Alan Hawkett, of the Newbury Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “I am pleased Daniel Heath and William Lawrence have admitted to damaging and stealing the Paddington Bear statue and they have been sentenced accordingly. “The Paddington Bear statue is a beloved part of Newbury so we did everything we could to locate it and bring the offenders to justice. The statue will now be mended and put back in its rightful home on a bench on Newbury's Northbrook Street. “After a short stay at Newbury police station, we handed the statue back to its owners so it can be restored,” Inspector Hawkett added. Shortly after 2am on 2 March, Heath and Lawrence ripped the statue in Northbrook Street off its bench and walked off with it. They then got in a taxi and took it back to RAF Odiham in Hook, Hampshire.
Keywords: paddington,paddington bear,police,feature,video,bear,photo
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