Herefordshire Wildlife Trust to benefit from teddy bear collection sale

The collection of 4,000 teddy bears will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to benefit Herefordshire Wildlife Trust

Thousands of teddy bears are going to be sold at auction to benefit a wildlife trust.

Susan Collard, from Hereford, collected about 4,000 of the toys over nearly 30 years before her death this year.

She chose Herefordshire Wildlife Trust to benefit, with the first auction expected to raise up to £70,000.

"We are incredibly grateful to the Collards for this wonderful gift," the trust's chief executive Jamie Audlsey said.

Mrs Collard's husband Les said he hoped each of the bears would find a loving new home.

"Every bear was special to Sue and most had their own names," he said.

Mrs Collard, who was in her 70s, was a long-standing member of the trust as well as a keen gardener, Mr Collard added.

Les Collard said every one of the bears was special to his wife

The most valuable of the bears, some of which are priced at about £1,000 each, will be sold by Special Auction Services in Newbury, Berkshire, on 8 December.

The rest will be included in auctions across 2023 and Daniel Agnew, from the auctioneers, said it was an overwhelming collection to inspect.

"It is quite a huge collection and was housed in a modest suburban house and took over four rooms completely while spilling into other rooms," he said.

"She collected for many years, they're mainly antique and vintage teddy bears so most pre-date World War Two, a lot of them go back to 1905, 1910."

The wildlife trust said the funds raised would go towards their land purchase fund and to restore habitats across Herefordshire.