A CUDDLY character is about to become a real “bear-devil” in aid of a North-East hospice.

Butter Bear is to become a resident at the Children’s Bereavement Club that meets twice a month and is run by the Family Support Team at Butterwick Hospice.

He will be available for cuddles from children in need of comfort, but he will also be getting out and about on a series of adventures.

These will begin when he goes sky-diving with the charity’s chief executive Debbie Jones later this month.

Debbie is leading from the front by taking part in the “Jump For Butterwick” sky-dive at Shotton, East Durham, on July 15 – and she’s planning to take Butter Bear with her.

Debbie said: “Butter Bear is going to become a key member of the team at Butterwick Hospice, so he might as well be thrown in at the deep-end by joining me on the sky-dive!”

The Butterwick’s intrepid chief executive will be jumping from 10,000 feet, strapped to an expert sky-diver in the sell-out event, which will raise vital funds for the hospice.

Butter Bear will be making celebrity appearances at a host of other events in aid of the Butterwick, including the Great North Run on September 9.

He can also be seen teeing off in the Butterwick Golf Classic at Rockliffe Hall, Hurworth-on-Tees, on September 12, and taking to the crease at a fund-raising cricket tournament at Durham’s Riverside ground on September 14.

There’ll be little time to rest as he prepares for the Big Butterwick Bike Ride, from Elm Tree Social Club, Stockton, on September 30.

Butter Bear is available for cuddles in return for a donation to the hospice.

Jo Wallis, the Butterwick’s Head of Marketing and Fundraising, said: “Butter Bear really is showing un-bear-lievable bravery, so please give him a big bear-hug whenever you see him on his travels round the region.”