SOME residents have been taking some mysteriously long walks during lockdown, but the reason for this might surprise you.

Many people have admitted to taking a detour along Ditchling Road, Brighton, to see some elaborate displays created using just a few toy bears and plenty of imagination.

The amazing daily installations are the work of Sarah Fitzpatrick and her five-year-old son Clark, with the pair recreating everything from Wimbledon to Glastonbury, DJ decks to dinner parties, all featuring their favourite teddies.

The Argus:

Sarah, 46, said: “We started in lockdown with the rainbows, when everyone was putting them in their windows.

“Then my mum put a bear in her window, so I put one up in mine and sent her a picture. My dad had just passed away and I thought this would make her smile as I couldn’t visit her.”

But Sarah did not stop there.

CLICK HERE>>>To visit The Teddy Bear House Facebook page

Shortly after placing the first bear in her window, she decided to up the ante. A VE Day display followed, complete with a soldier and a land girl, and the positive response from the community was overwhelming. “It was straight away,” Sarah said, “Going to the bins or playing outside the front of the house, people were always stopping and talking to us about the displays.”

The Argus:

Clark would proudly proclaim to passersby that “they are are our bears,” and people soon began altering their usual walking routes to see the latest display.

But disaster struck when several toy bears were stolen from a pirate display.

These included Sarah’s childhood teddy.

The Argus:

She posted about the theft on a Facebook community, where the project has a loyal following, and the dedicated fans soon rallied.

“We had people looking around Fiveways for the bears,” Sarah said.

“Within a day I had been given about 20 bears.”

The Argus:

She then set up a Facebook and Instagram page for the bears, all linked to a fundraising page for Cancer Research UK called The Teddy Bear House.

CLICK HERE>>>To visit the Cancer Research UK fundraising page

She said: “In April, my dad died of cancer. I think most people can really relate to Cancer Research as a cause.

"At first the daily pictures were to make my mum smile, but then I set this up with a target of £500.

“I thought that was optimistic.”

The fundraising page has now collected more than £1,100.