A dad has shared how grateful he is after strangers rallied together to help him find his son’s lost teddy bear.
Matt Barnfield, from London, tweeted on 13 April to say his son Jack, who has has autism, lost his favourite scruffy teddy - called Bear - who was his “best friend and companion”. The tweet had more than 18,000 likes and 25,000 retweets. The dad was inundated with messages from people offering to support in any way they could.
“Whether we find Bear or not, one thing is certain, there is a tremendous amount of ‘good’ out there just waiting to be found,” Barnfield tweeted on 14 April. “Truly touched and humbled.”
Among the strangers offering support was someone who found an identical bear, although it is slightly more “fluffy” than the original.
There was also an artist who did a drawing of the original ‘Bear’ for Jack and offered to send it to him.
Someone else found a similar-looking bear in a different colour and suggested calling it Bear’s long-lost cousin.
A woman who makes bears herself offered to make Jack his own bear.
People offered to send their own, well-loved bears.
And others searched for lost bears, although sadly none were Teddy.
Barnfield wrote on Twitter that Jack is currently comforted by the new teddy - the same bear bought brand new - and they’ve told Jack his new friend shares all of Bear’s memories of their fun together and has the same heart.
Responding to everyone’s kind gestures, the dad also tweeted: “I would like to thank everyone who has tried to help find Bear from the bottom of my heart for your time, caring and genuine kindness.
“My wife and I have been blown away by the incredible response. My faith in humanity has never been stronger. We feel truly blessed and humbled.”