Kind PCSO steps in to help find bear lost on trip to sea

Little Ruby Heaney (five) needs your help to find her Snuggie bear comfort blanket. ANL-160219-111713001

A tweet from a kindhearted PCSO has launched a massive hunt for a comfort bear belonging to a little girl from Spalding.

Ruby Heaney went to Skegness last Tuesday with her mum, Lynsey, other members of the family and her treasured Snuggie.

Lynsey said: “We had just arrived and went to the toilets in the Festival car park. By the time we had met up again my family Snuggie was gone.

“We’d only been five minutes and went back to have a look. We searched everywhere, including all the bins, but there was no sign.

“Snuggie is a tiny bear that holds a blanket its hand.

“It has been Ruby’s comfort blanket since she was born. In the first week she stopped breathing and the bear was a present for her while she was in hospital.

“It’s been with her ever since and when she lost it she was really upset. We’d gone to the seaside to visit Skegness Aquarium and see the seals Natureland and tried to carry on. But it wasn’t a good day - the fire alarm went off in the aquarium and when we got to Natureland they said there wouldn’t be any baby seals until November.”

Snuggie went missing as claims police officers were spending as little as half their time on the beat hit the national headlines.

However, in Skegness PCSO Dave Bunker spotted the missing bear report and decided to try and help with a #FindSnuggie appeal. He said: “It wasn’t really a police matter but I thought maybe I could help by reporting Snuggie missing on Twitter. At the end of the day we are human and wanted the little girl to get her bear back. But my involvement has been in my own time.

“The response on Twitter has been amazing. More than 4,500 people were reached in two days - but unfortunately Snuggie still hasn’t been found.”

Ruby’s dad, Dean, was impressed with the PCSO’s appeal. He said: “It was really kind of him to use his own time to do this. We realise it wasn’t a police matter but he did it because part of his role is community engagement.”

In spite of being bought a replacement, Ruby is still upset. She said: “Please find Snuggie because he’s my special friend.”