Residents donate Teddies to children

The charity drive was organised by Battle-based funeral home, Haine & Son, in partnership with the UK’s leading children’s charity, Barnardos.

Part of the C.P.J. Field family, Haine & Son launched the appeal for pre-loved teddy bears at the beginning of January to celebrate Winnie the Pooh Day.

In just one month, Haine & Son received 257 teddy bears at the branch in Market Square. The donated toys will now be sent to the local Barnardos service, to help bring joy to the lives of vulnerable children.

C.P.J Field has a special connection with the character, as the company carried out the funeral service for its creator, A.A Milne, 62 years ago.

This marks the second year that C.P.J Field has held the appeal. The family-owned funeral directors have built on the success of last year’s campaign by extending the appeal across all 38 branches in the south east of England.

Thanks to the generosity of local communities across the region, the business has collected a total of 1,130 teddy bears for Barnardos services across the UK.

Paula O’Neill, community champion for Haine & Son, said: “We are hugely grateful to the people of Battle for supporting our Barnardos appeal. The generosity of the local community, and the number of teddy bears donated has been overwhelming.

“We hope these donations bring some much-needed joy to the lives of the children under the care of Barnardos, much like Winnie the Pooh has done for many generations.”

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