Road sweep reunites girl with Paddington comforter

A mother whose daughter lost her comforter while holidaying in Pwllheli says the community's kindness moved her to tears.

Zoe, 32, from Warwickshire, and her husband Leo, 36, were in the Gwynedd town for the half-term break when their three-year-old daughter Alara's Paddington Bear comforter went missing.

The couple reached out to businesses in the area and on Facebook in a plea for help.

Zoe and Leo thought their daughter's keepsake would never be found, but after the community pulled together, she was soon reunited with her bear.

Street cleaner Danny Jones, 32, kept an eye out for the toy for two weeks as he worked around the town.

He finally found it, reuniting Alara with the comforter that had gone missing on the last day of her holiday.

Before heading back home, Zoe and her family had decided to visit the gift shops and the beach.

"We had walked from Wetherspoons to the car park, which is a short distance, and when we got the car, we realised the comforter was missing," Zoe said.

Leo decided to retrace their steps and stopped at the shops, pub and beach in search for the comforter.

"Everyone was so sympathetic and we really thought it was a lost cause," Zoe said.

"We told Alara that he was off on holiday and she accepted it but she was upset. We even went to Asda and bought lots of cuddly toys to make her feel better."

While Zoe returned to the Airbnb to look for the comforter, Leo had left his number with a few shops in case it had been handed in.

The cuddly comforter was bought when the couple found out that Zoe was pregnant with Alara, making it extra special.

Father-of-four Danny Jones is a street cleaner for Cyngor Gwynedd and said he knows how important a child's comforter is.

When Wetherspoons worker and mum of two Emma Lloyd Roberts was approached by Leo, knowing Danny's good nature, she reached out to him for help.

After scouring the streets, Danny found Paddington tucked behind a green electrical box outside Venu nightclub by the harbour.

"I'm so glad we found it. I don’t mind helping anybody, so long as they can sleep now," he said.

Danny said he found the comforter at 05:30 GMT while working, and took it to Emma’s house by 08:00.

Emma then got in touch with the family and posted it back to them, along with extra treats good enough for a teddy bear's picnic.

As an empathetic parent, Emma was modest about the act and said she would "do it for everyone".

Zoe said she was moved to tears.

"We were so overjoyed when were told it was found. We initially didn't tell Alara but when she found out she was really excited.

"It was lovely of Emma to add the little sweets to the package. We would love to pay her back in some way for her kindness," said Zoe.

Despite bear's little adventure, Zoe said the family had a lovely holiday in Pwllheli and are looking forward to return.