A blue plaque has been unveiled at the former Surrey home of Michael Bond, the author who created Paddington Bear, marking the house where he spent a decade writing several of the beloved books. The event, held at Fairacre in Haslemere on Saturday, was organised by the Haslemere Society with the permission of the property's current owners, Steph and Neil Stephenson, and drew a warm turnout that organisers said reunited old friends of the Bond family.

Bond, who died in 2017 aged 91, lived at the house from 1968, writing Paddington books and television scripts there. The unveiling was attended by his daughter, Karen Jankel, who gifted the current owners a Paddington bear that had been hers as a child; around double the 25 expected guests turned up, including former owners who travelled from Exeter. The Stephensons said they had only learned of the house's history after being contacted by the Haslemere Society, and the day's success has prompted early talk of a possible Paddington statue in the town.