Shortly after 2 o’clock on the morning of March 2, police stated when two members of the British Royal Air Pressure approached a statue of Bear Paddington, sitting on a bench in a park in Newbury, England and holding their favourite breakfast: a sandwich dripping with marmalade.
Then the lads kicked, fell aside and stole Paddington, leaving the bear flakes nonetheless connected to the park’s bench. But it surely seems that they’ve chosen the improper bear to get entangled within the improper place.
Newbury has a particular awe to Paddington, such because the birthplace of Michael BondThe creator of the favourite sequence for youngsters’s books on the good Peruvian bear and his adopted household in London, the brownies.
So when the lads, Daniel Heath and William Lawrence, each pleaded responsible to prison injury on Tuesday, the decide had some phrases to decide on earlier than condemning them.
“Paddington Bear is a favourite cultural icon with youngsters and adults,” stated Choose Sam Goze of the Reding Justice of the Peace Courtroom, instructed males, in keeping with his remarks printed by the court docket. “It represents kindness, tolerance and promotes integration and acceptance in our society. His well-known label connected to his Duffle coat says,” Please watch out about this bear. ” On the night time of March 2, 2025, your actions had been the antithesis of all the things Paddington means. “
Choose Gozée condemned the lads to 150 hours of public helpful work and ordered them to pay 2725 British kilos, or about $ 3530, to restore Paddington. “Your actions had been missing respect and integrity, two values that it is best to preserve as members of the Armed Forces,” he stated.
Each males expressed regret for the injury they’d inflicted on the bear.
“G -n -Lawrence and d -Het are deeply sorry for his or her actions on the day and instantly accepted duty when speaking by the police,” says their lawyer Tom Brymer in an e mail. “Undoubtedly, it was a habits that was utterly with out character.”
The Paddington Statue, a basic purple hat and blue coat, was considered one of 23 put in final yr in the UK and Eire to advertise the discharge of the film. “Paddington in Peru.“
On March 2, the footage of the safety digicam confirmed two men-later recognized as Mr. Heath and Mr. Lawrence-closer to Paddington on a darkish road. Each males had been “inebriated” on the time, the decide stated.
After some curious and pulling, the lads had been in a position to take away Paddington’s facade. They then introduced Paddington to a taxi, which took them and the damaged bear again to their air base, stated Choose Gozée.
Officers from the Newbury Police Division crew tracked Mr. Heath and Mr. Lawrence of their barracks in a while the identical day, arrested and seized the broken statue that was taken into the trunk of the automotive of G -L, police stated.
The interruption of the case was a satisfaction for native police.
“The Paddington Bear statue is a cherished a part of Newbury, so we did our greatest to search out it and produce off the offenders in court docket,” stated Inspector Alan Hockets of the Newbury Police Division at Newbury Police Division in Newbury at statement Tuesday.
“After a brief keep on the Newbury Police Division,” he added, “we returned the statue again to its homeowners in order that it may be restored.”
The Newbury Enterprise Enchancment space, which owns the Paddington statue, plans to be repaired and restored to its authorized perch on the park’s bench.
Within the meantime, a spokesman stated the world lined the bench with a tent with a gazebo, partly to guard passers -by from the tough edges of the broken statue and “partly in order that the youngsters don’t see the bear in a damaged state.”
