Two RAF engineers sentenced regarding Paddington theft
Following a Thames Valley Police investigation, two RAF engineers have been sentenced for damaging and stealing the Paddington Bear statue in Newbury.
Daniel Heath, aged 22, of Thornton, West Yorkshire, and William Lawrence, also 22, of Enderby, Leicestershire, were sentenced to 12-month community orders after pleading guilty to one count of criminal damage at Reading Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday the 25th of March. They were also ordered to pay £2,725 each to cover the cost of repairs.
Shortly after 2am on 2nd 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. It had appeared for sale on Facebook marketplace.
They were charged the following day.
You can see the men removing the statue on CCTV footage on Thames Valley Police’s Facebook page.
On the sentencing, Newbury BID commented:
“We are satisfied to see a resolution in court today as the costs help to cover the return of our beloved Paddington statue to Newbury. This would not have been possible without Thames Valley Police acting swiftly and excellent CCTV coverage of Newbury town centre. Newbury BID would like to extend our thanks to TVP and our CCTV providers, Scion Communications Fire & Security, who were both instrumental in allowing the investigation to take place so quickly.”
