A little lost bear found alone and forlorn in an Aire Valley park has sparked a stampede of interest on social media.

Friends of Prince of Wales Park, Bingley, stumbled across the cuddly character during restoration work last week and since then “Bertie” hurriedly named after Prince Albert, has become an internet hit.

The furry fellow is pictured on the Friends’ Facebook page and spokesman Jeff Nutter said the site’s number of hits had more than doubled.“So far we’ve had 2,500 hits with people wanting to look at the bear and we need to find his owner soon as Bertie is eating us out of house and honey!” Mr Nutter said.

Aware of the bear-napping risk, Mr Nutter said they would carry out strict tests before handing him over.“We’ll be demanding to see family photos with Bertie and DNA."