Two RAF engineers admit damaging statue

Two RAF engineers have admitted they broke a newly-installed Paddington Bear statue in half and stole it from a bench.

Daniel Heath, 22, of Oakhall Park, Thornton, West Yorkshire, and William Lawrence, 22, of John Street, Enderby, Leicestershire, both admitted an offence of criminal damage at Reading Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

The statue on Northbrook Street in Newbury, Berkshire, was damaged before being stolen shortly after 02:00 GMT on 2 March, the court heard.

The pair, who committed the offence while drunk on a night out, have have been ordered to carry out unpaid work and pay £2,725.

CCTV footage was shown in court in which the defendants could be seen stopping by the Paddington Bear statue and attempting to lift it off the bench.

The seam of the statue then broke off and the pair could be seen walking off with the broken half.

Sentencing the pair, district judge Sam Gooze said the men then took the statue in a taxi back to their base at RAF Odiham in Hampshire.

The statue was then found in Lawrence’s vehicle, the court heard.

Mr Gooze, who handed each of them a 12-month community order, said the pair had committed “an act of wanton vandalism”.

The statue was unveiled in Newbury – the home of Paddington’s creator Michael Bond – in October 2024.

Mr Gooze said this made the statue in the Berkshire town even more significant.

It was one of 23 placed across the UK as part of the Paddington Visits Trail.

The damaged statue was recovered but a date for its return has yet to be confirmed.