Bear Humbug finds a new home in Hampshire Read
Ant and Dec made a surprise visit to Fleet, Hampshire, as they officially unveiled the town’s new Paddington Bear statue.
A crowd of around 550 people attended the event, as the boys introduced Bear Humbug – one of 50 specially-designed statues which were dotted around London to celebrate the Paddington movie launch.
Residents of Fleet, both young and old, clubbed together as part of a crowdfunding campaign supported by the local community to secure the statue in an online auction in January, and Ant and Dec were delighted with Bear Humbug’s new home.
We have to say a huge thank you, we couldn't have wished for a better place for him to go.
"We have to say a huge thank you, we couldn't have wished for a better place for him to go,” said Dec.
"So thank you so much for all coming together to raise the money.”
Speaking about the design of the bear, Ant said: "We wanted it to be black and white to show our love for Newcastle United but Alan Shearer got there first.
"So we went for the humbug theme which we think looks great."
The £6,500 raised has been donated to the NSPCC which will go directly to Childline. The children's charity raised a staggering £930,000 in total from the Paddington trail scheme, which saw the specially designed statues go on sale.
