IT was Paddington Bear party time at Haslemere Bookshop, which marked its fourth successful year on the High Street under new management, as well as joining the national celebrations for Bookshop Day.

Customers enjoyed birthday cake, and everyone who entered the Paddington Bear competition challenge was rewarded with a goody bag and a token for an ice cream at Dylan’s Ice Cream Barn in Wey Hill.

The town has a special link with Paddington Bear. His creator Michael Bond, who died aged 91 last year, lived in Haslemere in the 1970s.

Paddington Bear Day was held across the UK, on Satuday, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the hero of more than 35 million books sold worldwide.

To mark the occasion, publisher Harper Collins has published a new hardback edition of the first book, A Bear Called Paddington, which came out in 1958.

Haslemere Bookshop manager Emily Adsett-Raggett, said: “We celebrated Paddington Bear Day with a treasure hunt to find his belongings hidden around the shop, and we had our two 1970s bears out in their original hats and coats.

“Also at our party, the five winners of the shop’s Summer Reading Challenge for children each received their certificate and £10 token.

“We raised more than £200 for Haslemere’s The Hunter Centre for dementia support.”

In the summer, Hollywood actor Hugh Bonneville surprised cinema-goers in Liphook by turning up for a screening of the second Paddington films, which he starred in.

The Milland-based actor, who also starred in the long-running Downton Abbey series on ITV, has given talks about the making of the film to local schoolchildren over the past 18 months.