Following a Thames Valley Police investigation, two men have been sentenced for damaging and stealing the Paddington Bear statue in Newbury.
Daniel Heath, aged 22, of Oakhall Park, Thornton, West Yorkshire, and William Lawrence, aged 22, of John Street, Enderby, Leicestershire, were sentenced to 12-month community orders after pleading guilty to one count of criminal damage at Reading Magistrates’ Court today (25/3).
Shortly after 2am on 2 March, Heath and Lawrence ripped the statue in Northbrook Street off its bench and walked off with it.
They then got in a taxi and took it back to RAF Odiham in Hook, Hampshire.
Officers from the Newbury Neighbourhood Policing Team tracked the thieves to the barracks later that day and arrested them and seized the damaged statue.
They were charged the following day.
Inspector Alan Hawkett, of the Newbury Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “I am pleased Daniel Heath and William Lawrence have admitted to damaging and stealing the Paddington Bear statue and they have been sentenced accordingly.
“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.
“Criminal damage and theft are serious offences regardless of the target, and we will always look to investigate and have offenders punished proportionately, including being put before the courts.”
Main Image: The Paddington Bear statue back at Newbury police station and in a police car
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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