Poundland director hops in to find new 'bunbun' for little girl from Thrapston

Little Auryn Peacock, two, spotted a sweet bunny as part of an Easter display in a shop in Kettering when she was a baby. She took a shine to the soft toy and the owner handed it to her.

The bunny - that she calls bunbun - became the most important thing in Auryn's life and she has never been separated from it.

Mum Nadine Peacock said: "She takes it everywhere. She will sleep with it, eat and drink and play with it. You try and take it off you and you have a baby meltdown on your hands.

"This bunny is now two years old and after lots of love and cuddles and plenty of trips to the washing machine is now looking and feeling a little bit raggedy. We decided it best to get a couple of spares."

Nadine and her wife Chelsea went back to the shop to ask the owner where he had got the bunny from and he told them it was from Poundland.

Nadine added: "You just can't guess what children are going to become attached to. Who would have thought it would be a Poundland bunny?"

The couple searched in every Poundland store they went in, called stores across the UK then waited a few months to see if it would be re-stocked after the Christmas items had gone from the shelves,. But they were then told they had been discontinued.

Nadine decided to contact Poundland directors on social media and via email but hit several brick walls. But then Poundland UK and Ireland Retail Director Austin Cooke replied to them telling them he would do everything he could to help them.

And just a few days later, Austin managed to find two of the bunnies and sent them out free of charge.

Nadine said: "Auryn as usual always took the mail , but this package was special it had a return to sender on it to Poundland.

"She opened that package and found two bunnies and cuddled them straight away. She now has her comforter for years to come as when this one is ready to leave home it will be replaced straight away.

"The kindness and generosity of Austin and his team has blown me and the wife away. To have even taken the time to read our email and to want to help us was enough but to then actually find two and give them to us free. What a lovely bunch of human beings.

"You read about so many bad things in the news at the moment, it was so nice for something like this to happen."

Auryn now has two spare bunnies in case one hops away.

A Poundland spokesman said: "When we heard of Auryn’s love for her Poundland bunny, we hopped to it and sorted out a couple pf replacements from the burrow.

"At any retailer, it’s the little things that make all the difference. We’re glad they’ve arrived safely."