Thousand across Wiltshire, Bath and Somerset took teddy bears to work and school for the day and put on funky footwear.

Despite facing competition from the Stand up to Cancer campaign, Ted’s Big Day Out, celebrating its 15th birthday, was said to be the best ever.

Money was raised for the Forever Friends Appeal’s RUH Cancer Care Campaign, for a cancer centre due to open at the Bath hospital in 2018.

Hospital mascot Big Ted visited children at Grittleton House School, Lodge Farm Nursery School in Kington St Michael and Bath ASU in Corsham, which provides aseptic manufacturing services including chemotherapy.

Grittleton House School’s headmaster Nathan Dawes said: “It is a charity that we love to support and we were very privileged to have a visit from Big Ted.”

“The early years children thoroughly enjoyed the day and the footwear theme really captured their imaginations; there was everything from shiny wellies to decorated slippers.”

Ted’s Big Bake Off in the RUH atrium sold a record amount of cakes to staff and visitors and raised £1,000 towards the appeal for the new cancer centre.