Two RAF engineers have been fined £2,725 after destroying a Paddington Bear statue while drunk on a night out.
The beloved statue was stolen from a bench in Newbury, Berkshire in the early hours of March 2 after it broke in half.
CCTV caught Daniel Heath and William Lawrence, both engineers in the RAF, trying to lift the statue off the bench at around 2am that morning when its seam broke off. They then walked off with the broken half.
Heath and Lawrence, both aged 22, have now pleaded guilty to criminal damage – and the unimpressed judge described them as ‘the antithesis of everything Paddington stood for’.
The statue cost £15,000 and was put in place last October in Newbury, where Paddington author Michael Bond was born, to promote the release of Paddington in Peru.
Video footage captured Lawrence squatting in front of the bear statue and trying to lift it up – until he lost his grip and was sent falling backwards onto the pavement.
Heath then joined him and together the two engineers ripped the front half of the fibreglass statue off, leaving poor Paddington’s insides exposed to the elements.
They then carried the statue to a taxi rank, and police were called later that morning. The taxi rank confirmed the defendants had been dropped off at RAF Odiham.
Jamie Renuka, prosecuting, said: ‘Mr Heath and Mr Lawrence attended the guard room and confessed to being the ones responsible for the offence.
‘Mr Lawrence took [the officer] to a vehicle where the Paddington Bear statue was hidden in his boot. Officers seized the statue.’
She added that the offence had a ‘significant community impact’ because Paddington Bear is considered a ‘national treasure’.
Trish Willetts – the CEO of Newbury Business Improvement District (BID), which owns the statue – said the damage to the statue caused ‘a great deal of upset within the community and local businesses’.
They’re hoping the original artist will repair the statue, at a cost of £5,451.
Tom Bryner, defending, said the defendants had worked for the RAF for four years, volunteered for the Poppy appeal, helped to clean the graves of service personnel in Basingstoke and were due to head to Cyprus for a three-month deployment, where the air force was fighting forest fires.
‘They do not get many days off, they went to the races, they drank, that had an impact on their decision making and actions on this occasion’, Mr Bryner said.
‘They have been stupid, I showed them the footage and they were extremely ashamed about their decisions.’
He added the offence was not planned, stating the defendants had never been to Newbury and had no idea the statue was there.
District Judge Samuel Goozee, sentencing, said: ‘Paddington Bear is a beloved cultural icon, with children and adults alike. He represents kindness, tolerance and promotes integration in our society.
‘His famous label attached to his duffle coat “please look after this bear”. On the night of March 2, your actions were the antithesis of everything Paddington stands for.
‘Your actions lacked respect and integrity, two values you should uphold as members of the armed forces.’
Heath and Lawrence were ordered to pay £2,725 each towards repairing the statue, as well as £85 in costs.
They have also been sentenced to a 12-month community order and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work ‘as payback to the community for your actions’, the judge said.
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