A woman from Westbury-on-Trym has described being left "stunned" after her Sooty bear, which was attached under her electricity box to help brighten children's lockdown walks, has been stolen.
Sooty the Bear is well known as a small yellow, magical male bear with black ears and nose who likes to perform magic tricks and play practical jokes.
But Barbara Bush was stunned to discover Sooty, who has been a great talking point amongst all the children in the local area, had suddenly vanished.
Barbara says she was with friends when she discovered on Tuesday (June 30) that Sooty had been taken and so far has had no luck finding him.
She told Bristol Live: "I installed Sooty, during the early days of lockdown, as part of our local Bear Hunt in BS9.
"He was quite the celebrity, giving a lot of pleasure to local children, and a great talking point - I’ve made new friends.
"Sooty was put up as part of The Bear Hunt that was done to help brighten children’s Lockdown walks.
"Imagine my distress to find him missing on Tuesday! He was securely attached with nylon thread so scissors or a knife had to have been involved. Our local Postie is on the case, keeping an eye out, and I’ve put up a poster."
"I was with new friends, Alex and her toddler daughter Edie, I met them back in April because Edie loved seeing ‘Bear’. We were stunned and couldn’t believe our eyes. I was actually rendered speechless - an unusual occurrence for me!
"I think Sooty’s disappearance is possibly down to teenagers larking about.
"Game over - no ones found him! Please bring him back now because he’s greatly missed."
So far Barbara has received lots of support from people across Westbury-on-Trym and from people who have been sending her messages.
These messages read: "I hope he comes back soon."
"How dare they!"
"I’m sorry for your loss" and "Honestly, really some people! Hope he is returned Bee he brought joy."
Barbara's grandson Charlie, who lives in Harrogate, coloured in the rainbow for Barbara after she sent him a picture of her rainbow and bear safely behind glass.
Barbara said: "We sent him one of his own to colour in, printed off a copy of the finished result and then added Sooty looking for the pot of gold."
Barbara added that she hopes Sooty will be returned safely to her soon and she'll be able to give a big thumbs up after Sooty hopefully returns from his great adventure.
