Paddington statue to stay in town for another year

The Paddington Bear statue in Penrith is the only one in Cumbria

A statue of the beloved Paddington Bear is to stay in a town for another year after boosting visitor numbers.

More than 20 benches of the children's character were temporarily placed in towns across the UK ahead of the launch of the film Paddington in Peru, including one in Penrith, Cumbria.

It has now been announced the Penrith statue will stay put for the next 12 months.

Joanna Fozard, of Penrith Business Improvement District (BID), said the character had brought visitors and money to the town, as well as boosting marmalade sales.

"We've really had a noticeable increase in visitors in the town, he's just been embraced by the community - we love him," she said.

She told BBC Radio Cumbria that because the statue was the only one in the county, people were coming to take selfies with the bear.

Paddington has been credited with boosting marmalade sales in Penrith

The marmalade-loving character may well have fallen on his paws, some might say, as Penrith is the home of the Dalemain World Marmalade Awards.

Ms Fozard said: "Having spoken to the local shopkeepers, we've had definite increases in sales from the toy and gift shops in particular, and our amazing local grocers JJ Graham sold record amounts of marmalade last year."

Alan Reed, one of the directors of the business, said they stocked about 30 different types of marmalade, many of them produced in Cumbria, with Paddington's presence giving sales a boost.

"We basically doubled our marmalade sales, some of our suppliers can't believe how much marmalade we're moving," Mr Reed said.