Multiple media reports say two 22-year-old men reportedly stole the Paddington Bear statue, who stolen by destroying it and eating a marmalade sandwich on a park bench in Newbury, England.
In surveillance footage of the March 2 incident posted by NBC News, two British Royal Air Force engineers can be seen kicking statues, but lacking sharp motor skills, they break them apart and flee with some of the beloved bears who rode alongside them in Odiham of the Taxi Back Royal Air Force.
Newbury turns out to be the wrong place to choose to fight Paddington Bear, drunk or not.
According to The New York Times, the town is the birthplace of Michael Bond, the creator of a children’s book series.
The two men identified by Thames Valley police as Daniel Heath and William Lawrence were pursued and arrested on the same day by a police team in the town’s neighbourhood and were arrested.
In March 2025, a statue of Paddington Bear sitting outside the Newbury Police Station was destroyed and stolen. (Thames Valley Police) (Photo credits Justin Talis/AFP by Getty Images)
“The Paddington Bear statue is a beloved part of Newbury, so we did everything we could to find it and bring the criminals to justice,” said inspector Alan Hawket of the Newbury Policing Team. “After a brief stay at Newbury Police Station, we returned the statue to its owner so it could be restored.”
Both men admitted to removing the Paddington statue and pleaded guilty to the number of criminal damages he had in court. In return, the pair was fined $3,500 and sentenced to a one-year community service sentence.
For a while, the brutal Paddington Bear, who rode a police car and hangs out at the station, was one of 23 statues depicting characters installed in conjunction with the release of his latest film, Paddington in Peru.
Source link