Operation Bearhunt: Girl reunited with her teddy after rescue mission spanning 1,500 miles and 1,000 people

With thinning fur, plentiful stitches and only one eye, Orange Ted has clearly been through some tough times in his 50 years.



But separated from his young and devoted owner, the threadbare toy faced his greatest escapade yet.



After a family holiday on the Costa Brava, Orange Ted, who has had four owners (including a small dog) was mislaid at Girona airport.



Together again: Jaimee Armstrong is reunited with her toy bear Orange Ted after his marathon journey home

Other bears might have been left to sit on the lost property shelf. But seven-year- old Jaimee Armstrong was distraught and unable to sleep without her trusty friend.



So her parents Deb and Dan launched Operation Bear Necessity – a mission to locate Orange Ted and bring him home.



It ended up taking 44 days, covering 1,500 miles and costing £1,000, but the reward is that Jaimee is 'over the moon'.



Ted's great adventure began on April 23 when Jaimee accidentally left her hand luggage at the departure gate in the confusion before boarding.



It also contained a Nintendo DS game console, Mr Men books and an MP3 player, but the bear was all that she cared about.



Back home in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, the family phoned Girona baggage inquiries and were told the bag containing Ted was there – but that someone had to collect it in person.







Mrs Armstrong, 45, said: 'Jaimee was frantic with worry. Dan and I quickly realised we had to get Orange Ted back whatever the cost.'



The family contacted a travel agent friend, Kim Hughes, of Travel Counsellors, and enlisted her help.



She contacted more than 1,000 of her colleagues from across the globe to find out if anyone would be visiting Girona.



One said he would be at the airport on May 11, and Mr Armstrong, 38, a carer, authorised staff to hand over the bag containing Orange Ted.



But the man was running late for a flight and did not have time to collect it.



Mr Armstrong decided to rescue Orange Ted himself, and booked a return flight and one night in a hotel.



Just before leaving he made a final call to the airport to check on the bear, only to be told it had been collected on May 14.



He discovered that another Travel Counsellors worker responding to the SOS had picked up the bag before taking a driving holiday across Spain and into France.



When the holiday finished on May 30 the bag was handed over to another travel rep, Laura Dawson, in Toulouse.



Relieved: The Armstrong family is overjoyed Orange Ted is safely back home

'By luck, her parents were visiting her from Yorkshire and brought Orange Ted back to the UK when they flew home,' said Mrs Armstrong.



Ted was then posted to Burnham-on-Sea. The couple say that expenses, including the unused flight, hotel and a string of phone calls, have totted up to about £1,000 but it is worth it to have Ted back home.



The bear was bought 50 years ago and belonged to Mr Armstrong's great-aunt Vera.



When she grew up, she gave it to her beloved Pekinese called Jinx. It was handed on to Mr Armstrong in 1970, when he was a baby, and he passed it down to Jaimee in 2002.



'It would have been much easier if the airport had just put him on a plane back home, but they said they couldn't and we would have to collect him in person,' said Mrs Armstrong.



'I was so upset about it because it was her teddy. She has lost other things like her Nintendo, but Orange Ted was all she was worried about.



'It's only got one eye, quite bald, with just tufts of hair and stitches all over it – a teddy only a child could love.'



Sadly for Orange Ted, his travelling days are over. Mrs Armstrong said: 'One thing is absolutely certain – he is never leaving the country again.'