A FAIRY-TALE ending has brought the story of a lost Paddington bear and his bereft owner to a happy conclusion. Lawrence St John, aged three, who lives on The Ridgeway, St Albans, had left Puddington, as he had named his cuddly toy, on an S1 bus and his

A FAIRY-TALE ending has brought the story of a lost Paddington bear and his bereft owner to a happy conclusion.

Lawrence St John, aged three, who lives on The Ridgeway, St Albans, had left Puddington, as he had named his cuddly toy, on an S1 bus and his father Ian appealed in the Herts Advertiser for the bear's speedy recovery.

Mr St John thought that a fellow passenger had perhaps seen the lonely-looking bear and taken it home with the intention of telling the UNO bus company.

And thanks to Paddington's picture in the Herts Advertiser, Barbara Green came forward as that very passenger.

She said, "I was sitting on the bus when I saw a little bear with no bus ticket. I decided I better take him home and ring the bus company in case another child picked him up by mistake".

Mrs Green spent more than 90 minutes trying to get through to the bus company on the evening of the bear's disappearance but without success.

In the end, it was seeing the photo in The Herts Advertiser that brought the saga to a happy conclusion. Mrs Green said, "I couldn't help but laugh with joy when I saw it. I knew there'd be a distraught little owner out there, and when I rang the St John family we were all ecstatic".

The story had also prompted three warm-hearted Herts Advertiser readers to offer their own Paddington bears to Lawrence should Puddington not be recovered. Several callers shared their similar experiences with the St John family to try to reassure young Lawrence that lost teddy bears often find their way home.

Mr St John said he was overwhelmed by the response.