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Ipswich five-year-old raises £300 for new bear enclosure

Darren Rozier/BBC Quinn and his mum, EricaDarren Rozier/BBC
Five-year-old Quinn walked five miles (8km) with his mum around Ipswich to raise money for Diego

A five-year-old boy has raised more than £300 to help fund a new enclosure for a brown bear.

Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife near Ipswich is building a "fantastic environment" for Diego the bear, who arrived in the UK in November.

He was due to be euthanised after Sweden's Orsa Park closed but was rescued by Wildwood Trust in Devon.

Schoolboy Quinn has raised £312 for the bear's new home, by walking five miles around Ipswich town.

Wildwood Trust Diego in Sweden before the moveWildwood Trust
Diego lived at Orsa Park in Sweden before he travelled by Eurotunnel to Deven

Diego travelled by train to Devon in early November, where he will hibernate this winter.

The trust has built a reputation for working with European brown bears, having rescued orphans Lucy and Mish from abandonment in Albania in 2019.

"We had no plans to hold another bear here in the foreseeable, but had we not done, I don't think he'd be alive right now," said Mark Habben from Wildwood Trust.

In the spring of 2024, Diego is expected to be transferred to the Suffolk farm run by TV presenter Jimmy Doherty.

Wildwood Trust Diego the bearWildwood Trust
Mark Habben said Diego remained "calm and settled" after arriving at the trust

Earlier this year, Mr Doherty rescued Ewa the polar bear from the same Swedish zoo, after building her a £1m enclosure.

"When I was there visiting Ewa I was introduced to Diego and I think the wildlife keepers there did it on purpose because they knew it was really going to pull the heartstrings," said Mr Doherty.

"They said 'please can you take Diego because he is the last bear we have got left and he's going to be put down'."

The farm has since run a campaign to raise £70,000 for Diego's new home.

Hanse Hansson Diego the bearHanse Hansson
Diego was found abandoned as a five-month old cub in a Swedish forest in 2011

Quinn's mum, Erica, said: "After watching videos of Diego, my son wanted to help get him to Jimmy's Farm.

"He started counting his pocket and was sad he didn't have enough... He has walked 5 miles, a mile for each year of his age, and has asked friends and family to sponsor him with all donations going towards Diego."

Speaking to BBC Radio Suffolk, Quinn said he walked five miles (8km) through "a park, the docks and town" with his mum and sister Harper.

"It was easy, a little bit."

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