2 UK Men Sentenced For Damaging, Stealing Paddington Bear Statue In Birthplace Of Creator

Two men in England have been sentenced after pleading guilty to criminal damage charges for damaging and stealing a Paddington Bear statue.

Thames Valley Police said Daniel Heath and William Lawrence, both 22-year-old British Royal Air Force engineers, were sentenced to 12-month community orders after CCTV footage captured the March 2 incident on Northbrook Street in Newbury, the birthplace of Paddington creator Michael Bond. In the U.K., a community order is similar to community service in the U.S. The men were also fined.

The statue of Paddington Bear eating a marmalade sandwich was seated on a bench alongside the street. Heath and Lawrence, who were drunk at the time, could be seen in the CCTV footage shared by police kicking the statue and breaking it shortly after 2 a.m. They then stole the bear, walking away with it and taking it with them in a taxi to RAF Odiham in Hook, Hampshire.

Detectives tracked the suspects back to the barracks later that day, arresting them and seizing the statue.

“I am pleased Daniel Heath and William Lawrence have admitted to damaging and stealing the Paddington Bear statue and they have been sentenced accordingly,” Inspector Alan Hawkett of the Newbury Neighbourhood Policing Team said in a statement.

“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. After a short stay at Newbury police station, we handed the statue back to its owners so it can be restored,” Hawkett said. “Criminal damage and theft are serious offenses regardless of the target, and we will always look to investigate and have offenders punished proportionately, including being put before the courts.”