Paddington Bear
The original Paddington bear who starred in dozens of BBC television programmes sits on an iron fence in London April 29. The stuffed bear will be auctioned by Sotheby's on June 3 for an expected 6,000-10,000 pounds sterling ($10,000-16,000). Reuters

The United Kingdom's Paddington Bear has been voted the best animated character of all time.

According to The Independent, the loveable, duffle coat-clad bear from darkest Peru triumphed after a UK-wide vote, beating figures such as Wallace & Gromit, Mr Benn and Bagpuss. The awards were announced at the ninth British Animation Awards that was held at the British Film Institute in London.

A report by The Sun said the character, created by Michael Bond, was named after the London Station he was "found" at. He then made his literary debut in 1958 in "A Bear Called Paddington", which narrated how he was packed off by his Aunt Lucy, who went into a retirement home in Lima, the capital city of Peru. Paddington then made his way to Britain where he was adopted by the Brown family.

Other winners at the awards ceremony included the Gruffalo, Aardman Animations (the makers of Wallace and Gromit) and Harry Potter.

"At a time when the UK animation industry faces an uncertain future we have been overwhelmed by the strength and breadth of talent featured in this year's awards and would like to warmly congratulate all our winners," awards director Jayne Pilling was quoted as saying by The Independent.

Meanwhile, a sequence from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1", titled - The Tale of Three Brothers - picked up the award for Best Animated Sequence in a Film. "Bertie Crisp", a six-minute comedy animation by Francesca Adams - featuring the voices of Kathy Burke, Tamsin Greig and Mark Benton - won Best Short Film.

London