Mystery of bus stop bears solved

The cuddly toys get replaced from time to time by fairies, according to village legend

The mystery of why teddy bears have been waiting years for a bus in Lincolnshire has been partly solved.

Assorted cuddly toys, possibly hoping to catch a ride to a teddy bears' picnic, have been "queuing" at a bus stop in South Willingham for at least a decade.

Now, villager Sheila Lacey has admitted putting cuddly toys in the bus stop in recent years.

However, she does not know who first took the teddies to the shelter.

"It's just a bit of fun," she said.

"It's for children. We haven't got that many in the village but you can see they [the cuddly toys] are well handled."

Some children play with the cuddly toys while they are waiting for the bus to school

According to village legend, the cuddly toys get replaced from time to time by fairies.

But Ms Lacey came clean after BBC Radio Lincolnshire went investigating around the village to find the real cuddly toy fairy.

Before Ms Lacey's confession, one woman said: "We've often looked and we've always wondered who actually puts them there.

"Nobody knows. They're very cute, but we've asked around and no-one will ever admit it."