IF you go down to Darwen Three Day Market today you’re in for a big surprise!

Theodore the 7ft Teddy bear had been shocking shoppers in the town after being made by stallholder Brian Tattersall.

Mr Tattersall, who runs Brian’s Collectable Toys and Cars, said he had never made a bear before Theodore.

He said: “I bought a load of fur cloth but didn’t know what to do with it.

“I got sick of falling over it and decided I would make a Teddy bear.

“I can make them to order, anywhere from three or four feet tall to bigger than 10ft.”

Mr Tattersall said he had spent three weeks making the giant toy, whose eyes are made from upholstery buttons.

He said it would cost £1,000 to buy because of the materials and time that go into it.

Mr Tattersall, who drove buses for 20 years before setting up on the market 18 months ago, said: “The plan going forward is to put Theodore in different parts of the market.”

Markets manager Gwen Sangster said: “A lot of people have come and looked at it. It is certainly generating a lot of interest.”