Esher 18 November 2014: Keltbray, which is a UK leader in specialist engineering, construction, demolition, decommissioning, rail and environmental services is supporting The Paddington Trail in London in aid of the NSPCC and its Childline services. The trail involves 50 individually designed Paddington statues, placed across the capital to coincide with the release of the forthcoming Paddington film, which opens in UK Cinemas on November 28.

Keltbray has sponsored the adventurous design of world renowned architect,Zaha Hadid, who wanted to re-imagine the classic colours of Paddington Bear’s signature hat, raincoat and wellingtons as a perfect gradient, which camouflages the bear, yet makes him perhaps even more recognisable, and which is being displayed at the Royal Exchange, in the heart of London.

Managing Director of Keltbray, John Price, said: “Keltbray is deep rooted in London, where we help to develop the skyline and preserve our proud heritage, which Paddington is very much a part of. Paddington is also a symbol of childhood, which the NSPCC does so much to protect. As a company that firmly believes in giving all young people a chance, we are therefore proud to be associated with this inspiring initiative.”

The Paddington Trail features Paddington statues designed by a star-studded team, which includes former Royal Ballet principal dancer Darcey Bussell, presenters Davina McCall, Ant McPartlin & Declan Donnelly and Jonathan Ross, explorer and survival expert Bear Grylls, the Chelsea football team, the England rugby union team and Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

Some of the Paddington statues will be auctioned online by Christie’s from 10 December at www.christies.com/paddington enabling members of the public to bid on the bears with all of the net proceeds going to the NSPCC.

Visitors will be able to follow in the furry footsteps of the world’s favourite Peruvian explorer visiting locations across the capital from as far west as Heathrow through to the O2 in the east, taking in some of London’s key cultural and landmark hotspots such as The Royal Opera House, Museum of London, Horse Guards Parade, the Museum of Childhood, Selfridges and, of course, Paddington Station, from 4 November – 30 December 2014.

VisitLondon.com has also launched a dedicated section of their website which will enable visitors to London to download the trail map, share their pictures and discover the stories behind each statue and location. For more information, seewww.VisitLondon.com/Paddington

Paddington’s origins date back almost sixty years to when his creator, Michael Bond, bought a small bear from Selfridges on Christmas Eve 1956, as a present for his wife, and named him after the nearest railway station to which they lived. In Michael Bond’s original tales, the young bear finds himself alone in a big and unfamiliar city. Taken in by the Brown family, he finds a warm welcome and a safe place to stay and sets out to discover more about his adopted city.

For more information on Paddington and the film go to www.paddington.com or follow#PaddingtonTrail on Twitter

ENDS

More information

Images of Zaha Hadid’s Paddington Bear, and some of the other bears are available via this link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/keltbray/sets/72157649288011826/

For more information, please contact Keltbray’s head of communications, Marit Meyer-Bell, on tel. 0786 765 3392 or by email to [email protected]

Keltbray Group

Keltbray is the UK’s leading specialist engineering, construction, decommissioning and environmental services business providing fully integrated services to meet the needs of diverse and complex projects. We are committed to engineering innovation and industry leadership in health, safety, quality and the environment. Our in-house training focuses the business on excellence and on delivering value to our clients thereby fostering long lasting relationships and partnerships. High profile projects include Europe’s tallest building – The Shard, London’s Thames Link and deplanting at Bradwell Power station. For more information, see www.keltbray.com