It was shortly after 2 a.m. on March 2, the police said, when two members of the British Royal Air Force approached a statue of Paddington Bear, sitting placidly on a park bench in Newbury, England, and holding his favorite snack: a sandwich dripping with marmalade.
The men then kicked, broke apart and stole Paddington, leaving a husk of the bear still affixed to the park bench. But it turns out that they had picked the wrong bear to mess with, in the wrong place.
Newbury has a special reverence for Paddington, as the birthplace of Michael Bond, the author of the beloved children’s book series about the genial Peruvian bear and his adopted family in London, the Browns.
So when the men, Daniel Heath and William Lawrence, both 22, pleaded guilty to criminal damage on Tuesday, the judge had some choice words before he sentenced them.
“Paddington Bear is a beloved cultural icon with children and adults alike,” the judge, Sam Goozée of Reading Magistrates’ Court, told the men, according to a copy of his remarks released by the court. “He represents kindness, tolerance and promotes integration and acceptance in our society. His famous label attached to his duffle coat says, ‘Please look after this bear.’ On the night of 2 March 2025, your actions were the antithesis of everything Paddington stands for.”
