Teddy bears hit new heights in aid of church

TEDDY bears wearing parachutes were launched off the tower of St Nicholas Church, Alcester earlier this month, raising more than £500 for the church restoration fund.

Now in its second year the spectacle of the flying bears attracted good crowds on Bank Holiday Monday despite the miserable weather and some bears even made their way to terra firm in a specially constructed teddy plane.

The £500 takes the fund closer to the £500,000 needed to carry out repair work to the exterior stonework of the church which has weathered over time.

Some of the characters taking a leap of faith on Monday included a Super Ted and even an orangutan which was thrown in or out for good measure.

The ted’s are hauled to the top of the church in a bucket and are then launched into the church courtyard and collected by their grateful owners knowing that the bears have done their bit for the community.

The whole operation took three hours and the Ted Cross was on hand to make sure everyone had a happy landing.

“This year we decided to try something a bit different. We made a plane on a zip wire for those teds who were too nervous to jump. The church restoration committee is very grateful for everyone’s help especially the Ted Devils who made it a colourful sight for everyone to enjoy. We are already planning next year’s event. The £500 shows the generosity of everyone involved and I’m pretty certain this is going to become a regular event on Bank Holiday Mondays from now on,” Steven Brown from the church restoration committee said. He also compered the day’s jumping teds.

This year’s event was sponsored by The Holly Bush pub in Alcester which entered its own bear called Everards and just like any good tipple, organisers said the bear went down very nicely.

L The Alcester Food Festival returns to the town’s streets on Saturday 21st May.