Landlord appeals for help to find missing toy badger

A pub is appealing to the public for help after its "beloved" stuffed badger went missing.

Mr and Mrs Badger are two soft toys which have been a staple of The Oddfellows Arms in Wimborne, Dorset, for 35 years.

On Friday 27 March, Mr Badger is suspected to have been removed by a customer who had been spotted holding it.

The landlord Callum Brooks has launched an appeal for information about the toy's disappearance which he says "has left Mrs Badger staring out of the pub's window longing for her partner's return".

The Oddfellows would like Mr Badger returned in time for a street party on 11 April and has offered a reward on social media in exchange for information.

It has posted images from CCTV footage of the customer on social media in the hope they will return Mr Badger.

The badgers were donated to the rural pub by a punter back in 1991 and have "never been separated".

Brooks said: "I've got a pub full of disappointed and angry locals."

Regulars have described the badger couple on social media as "part of the furniture".

According to Brooks, a woman seen holding the toy had been with five friends and was sitting near the windowsill where Mr Badger was perched.

Brooks said: "We are aware that it is a stuffed toy and there are far more serious things going on in the world but you should not be tampering with history.

He said glasses could be replaced, adding: "The badger can't. He's part of the pub's history.

"We don't want to start a witch hunt, we just want our badger back."

The social media appeal has had over 400 shares.

"Locals want to see fairness and we would like the badger returned, no questions asked," he said.