In the English town of Newbury, two men approached a statue of the beloved British children’s book character Paddington Bear.
The famous bear, sitting on a park bench in his trademark red cap and blue coat and eating his favourite food, a marmalade sandwich, was attacked.
CCTV footage shows the two men kicking and tugging at the statue. They eventually pulled the bear off the bench, hailed a taxi and drove away.
Police later identified the perpetrators as Daniel Heath and William Lawrence, two 22-year-olds from the Royal Air Force. The statue was found in Lawrence’s car at their base in Odiham.
This week, both men pleaded guilty to criminal damage and apologised for their actions. But that didn’t stop Judge Sam Guzy from reprimanding them at their sentencing hearing.