Paddington Bear is 50 today!

London, June 26 : Paddington Bear, the bear who's fond of marmalade sandwich and is kids' most loveable character, celebrated his 50th birthday on June 26.

Paddington, who was brought to life by author Michael Bond, has reached his fiftieth milestone - but luckily for him he hasn't aged a bit.

In fact, Paddington can still squeeze into his trademark duffel coat and felt hat - proving the teddy from darkest Peru has little intention of growing up, reports The Daily Express.

The first Paddington story was published in 1958, when the bear was found at Paddington railway station in London by the Brown family, with a note attached saying: "Please look after this bear. Thank you."

To honour the occasion, the politely spoken bear partied the afternoon away in London with more than 200 school children.

Bond created the fictional character after he noticed a lone teddy bear at a shop near Paddington train station.

He decided to buy the teddy as a present for his wife and was inspired to write a story about him.

ANI