Broadcaster's bear museum on sale

Gyles Brandreth with Fozzie Bear and a Roulet and Decamps bear

A teddy bear museum founded by broadcaster and former MP Gyles Brandreth is up for sale.

The Teddy Bear Museum, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, was opened by Mr Brandreth and his wife 18 years ago.

Amongst the 1,000 bears displayed as exhibits is the original Fozzie Bear from the Muppet Show.

Mr Brandreth said the time had come to find new owners for the museum. The sale will be arranged privately.

'Unique collection'

He said: "The museum has come of age and it's now time for us to find new owners for the museum and its unique collection.

"Our children are all grown-up and my work commitments mean that I simply don't have the time to give it the care and attention it deserves."

He added he wanted to find new owners who would love the museum as much as he and his family had done and who would see it go from strength to strength.

Other famous bears inside the museum include a Steiff bear from 1904, thought to be one of the world's oldest, The Prince of Love - a bear belonging to the late Dame Barbara Cartland and a German Hermann bear, collected from East Berlin before the Berlin Wall came down.

The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, also recently donated his old bear, Lynton, to the museum.