A MOTHER from Hook said she 'could have cried with joy' after a charity launched a hunt to find a teddy bear mistakenly donated to them.

Elizabeth Dawson-March said she was busy clearing out the attic, decluttering some of her daughter's old toys to send to the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

After sending the package, the 45-year-old realised the teddy had accidentally been included in the parcel, shipped off to the charity's donation centre in Scotland.

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Minnie in 2013 with the teddy bear, left, and the teddy bear (Image: BHF) "It was just heart-wrenching when I realised what had happened. The donations were well on their way to Glasgow, so I wasn't sure if it was possible to get him back, but I knew I needed to at least try," said Elizabeth.

She explained that the soft toy was a 1991 Beanie Baby, which she took to boarding school as a child. Elizabeth continued: "It brought me great comfort when I was away from home, so, I passed it down to my daughter, Minnie, who has a real soft spot for it.

"She took it with us on our first-ever family holiday to the Isle of Wight and we call it 'soft brown bear'."

After informing the charity about what had happened, BHF used a tracking system to find the bear 400 miles from home, sending Elizabeth a picture to check the toy was hers.

Elizabeth said she 'could have cried with joy' when she was told the bear was on its way home, adding: "Minnie is 13 now, so she doesn't like to show her feelings, but I could tell how happy she was to have the bear back."

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The Hook resident said the charity is close to her heart as her uncle, Roderick  Charles Leigh, died while scuba diving in 1997.

Mr Charles-Leigh served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Military Police before his death, which was said to be caused by an inherited high cholesterol condition. Rebecca said she supports the BHF 'in Uncle Roderick's memory'.

The charity accepts donations across more than 600 stores, as well as taking donations by post. Money raised from the sale of the items is used by the BHF to fund research into heart and cardiovascular conditions.