Two arrested as Newbury’s stolen Paddington statue recovered | Global News Avenue

Police said two men were arrested after the Paddington Bear statue was damaged and stolen from the bench.

According to Thames Valley police, the sculpture was taken from a seat on Newberinos Brook Street at about 02:00 a.m. Sunday.

The unit said Sunday night that it had recovered the statue, adding that Paddington was “traveling to the Newbury Police Department for a much-needed jam sandwich.”

Two 22-year-old men from Basingstoke were arrested on suspicion of theft and criminal damage and were detained by police.

“The Paddington Bear Statue is a beloved part of Newbury, so we’ve been doing everything we can to find it and the criminals,” Insp Alan Hawkett said.

The force said it will keep the sculpture safe and support its restoration.

The statue of a Peruvian bear holding one of his beloved jam sandwiches is Unveiled at home Michael Bond, creator of Paddington Town October.

It was one of 23 celebrated children’s characters last year that have been celebrating throughout the UK, part of the Paddington Visit Trail before the Studiocanal movie Paddington in Peru.

Residents of Berkshire Town earlier expressed frustration at theft, calling him a “lovely addition” to Newbury.

Christopher Gibbins said he had seen the damaged remains of the statue at about 08:00 GMT on Sunday during a walk.

“It’s hard to see what happened when he’s in town that makes a lot of people feel so happy,” he said.

Many locals participated in social media and shared photos they took with Paddington.

Whitney Burnett wrote: “It seems no big deal for some people, but he’s a little sunshine, walking to work or taking my little one into town, he just brings smiles to people.”

“I feel particularly sad because Newbury is the hometown of writer Michael Bond. How upset he would be,” Juliet Curtis said.