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 Wednesday.

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 will be 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 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 Newbury.

They 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 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.