Families hoping to visit a statue of Paddington Bear in St John’s Gardens in Cardiff were turned away after finding the gates locked. The statue is one of 23 across the UK and Ireland that are part of the promotion for the new Paddington film. While it has been popular on social media, the gardens are locked late afternoons six days a week and all day Sunday in an attempt to prevent anti-social behaviour. Cardiff council has said that discussions are underway with FOR Cardiff, the business organisation working with the film production company, about whether or not the statue can be moved.
One father, Gareth Evans, reported that many parents were waiting for the gates to open when he arrived with his two children on a Sunday. A number of people had travelled considerable distances, including from Tenby in Pembrokeshire, only to be turned away. Ffion Jones, deputy head teacher at Caradog Primary School in Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf, said the school had been lucky to take its pupils to visit during school hours.
Karen and Graham from Llantwit Major, Vale of Glamorgan, who were visiting the statue with their daughter Orla, supported the need to lock the gardens to suppress anti-social behaviour but called for the visiting hours to be extended. The council said that the gardens remained locked all day Sunday but had opened for an extra day due to the statue’s popularity. The authority also confirmed it was working with FOR Cardiff to try and find an alternative location in the Welsh capital for Paddington to attract visitors
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