Hedgehog hunt: Apology after bin man mistakenly takes flagship statue from family business
Durham County Council has apologised to a family business after their flagship statue was taken by mistake during the weekly bin collection.
On Wednesday, the Hedgehog Bakery in Bishop Aukland took to social media to ask their customers for help after they realised their wooden hedgehog - named Horace - had vanished.
The wooden sculpture was commissioned to celebrate the bakery's first anniversary of trading in 2023 - and stands proudly outside the shop on every open day.
One follower pointed out that they had witnessed the statue being taken during the bin collection, leading the family business to check their CCTV - where they found Horace the hedgehog had been lifted by a bin man.
CCTV footage from the bakery shows the bin man mistakingly taking the statue as he believed it had been fly-tipped. Credit: Hedgehog Bakery
Durham County Council have now returned the statue, and told ITV Tyne Tees it was a "genuine mistake".
The Hedgehog Bakery said: "Yesterday my husband had put him [Horace] out as normal, but it wasn't until the afternoon that my husband noticed he was missing.
"We quickly put out a post asking if anyone knew anything and just to keep their eyes open for it. We never thought we'd see him again to be honest."
The bakery said they had heard from Durham County Council today and they explained the bin man who took Horace "believed he'd been fly-tipped, which is why he ended up in the front of the bin truck," they said.
"Horace has suffered some damage during his kidnapping but thankfully the worker had him mended before finding out he was our lost Hog."
Durham County Council said in a statement: "We can only apologise to the Hedgehog Bakery for any distress caused and are pleased to confirm the statue has been returned to the business this afternoon.
"A member of our local bin crew made a genuine mistake in mistaking the statue for waste as it was kerbside, where large items are often left for collection. As soon as we realised the mistake we contacted the bakery to apologise and arrange for the statue to be returned.
"We would like to wish the bakery every success in the future."
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