A FAMILY-RUN dairy farm has unveiled its latest charity campaign effort – a 45-foot sculpture of Paddington Bear made entirely out of straw.
Snugburys in Nantwich, Cheshire has proven a hit with locals over the year thanks to their popular ice cream shop set in the courtyard of the farm.
For every year over the past two decades, the business has installed a straw sculpture in their field next to the A51 – and they unveiled their latest efforts yesterday.
Paddington is their largest sculpture to date and has taken over 1,500 hours of effort to build, right down to his hat and suitcase.
And the creation comes with a special ice cream flavour to accompany it – an orange zest with a homemade marmalade curd ripple, fit for Paddington himself.
Each year, Snugburys chooses a different charity to support, this time choosing the MPS Society, which supports people affected by life-limiting genetic disorders known as mucopolysaccharide conditions.
A cause close to the family’s heart – as a friend’s son suffers from the condition, also known as childhood dementia – 10p from the sale of every single, double or triple cone will be donated to the charity.
The giant Paddington sculpture is made from straw, larch shingles and a metal frame, and stands tall in his famous blue duffel coat, holding his suitcase and red hat.
His unveiling was shared to social media yesterday with the caption: “Found at Snugburys.”
The post has since received over 7,200 likes and more than 2,600 comments from social media users both touched and impressed by the sculpture.
One said: “Paddington is just super, how nice to have this close by to spread some joy and smiles.”
A second commented: “Amazing Paddington. What dedication, and for such a brilliant charity.”
Another wrote: “There’s only one fault I can see from the photos, where’s the marmalade sandwich?
“Looking very much forward to seeing this in person, love Paddington Bear.”
A fourth said: “As though we needed another reason to go and buy ice cream, love it.”
Another added: “My niece has MPS, thank you for supporting this charity.”
Speaking today, Kitty Hill, marketing and sales director at Snugburys, said: “It all started after we watched the platinum jubilee, where the Queen and Paddington shared tea together.
“It was so sweet, and it really captured all three of us.
“We have been creating the sculptures for over 20 years and really enjoy making them alongside Mike from Harbrook Engineering.
“The MPS charity is close to our hearts, our family friend’s little boy was sadly diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder also known as childhood dementia.”
Previous sculptures at Snugburys include a bee, in support of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, a Dalek and Peter Rabbit.
Unfortunately, in 2017, Peter Rabbit was set alight by a sick arsonist but was quickly rebuilt after a volley of support from the local community.
Speaking today, Anna Featherstone, head of fundraising at MPS Society said: “We are over the moon that Snugburys Ice Cream has chosen to support the MPS Society.
“The MPS Society is the only UK charity that supports families affected by one of 27 rare, life-limiting conditions.
“We are a small charity that receives no government funding, so support from companies like Snugburys is invaluable to us.
“It helps us fund our dedicated support services, providing vital information, a telephone helpline manned by our friendly and knowledgeable support team, and specialised mental health and bereavement support.
“A heartfelt thank you to Snugburys, we can’t wait to work with you over the coming months.”
