Two wooden bears which have been seen on TV - have led to an award for Congleton's Freemasons.

The animal sculptures form an amusing backdrop to a heart-warming story from the fight against the pandemic, and which has led to an award for a former beat bobby and amateur rugby union player.

Andy Barratt, who is a local farming family and a former Mayor of Congleton, is the current Charity Steward.

He is also the Bar and Hall Manager of Eaton Masonic Lodge, which meets on Congleton's 44 Mill Street.

Last week, he was presented with a Certificate of Commendation from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cheshire to recognise work completed by Eaton Lodge during the battle against COVID-19.

At the height of the first wave, when lodge meetings were banned, part of that battle involved turning the Freemasons Hall into a makeshift training centre for nursing home and care home workers.

Many travelled from Macclesfield to train up in the 176 year old building, which included the pair of bears.

62-year-old Andy described "Those were grim times which involved ten tables being socially distanced around our hall and being repeatedly cleaned, with all of us inside it at risk.

"Nobody was more at risk than the unfortunate care home workers who away from the hall were enduring the worst working conditions imaginable.

"It was not easy to raise a smile, but I told them the story of how the bears were lying unhoused and unwanted in a scrapyard a few years ago in a very poor condition.

"They were about to be sent to the great woods in the sky until our lodge stepped in to restore the bears. We kept them alive, dressed them in our aprons and as far as I know they are the only masonic bears in existence.

"We regard them as members of our lodge."

The rescue bears of Mill Street have become a symbol of Eaton Lodge's charity work on the road in Congleton and the surrounding area.

The bears have also appeared on TV, having had a cameo role when Celebrity 5 Go Barging did some filming on the wharf at

the top of Canal Street. Andy, who lives in Rode Heath, added: "Our contribution to the fight against Covid started when one of our members, Ron Sherwin, came up with the idea. "He suggested that all of us at the lodge club together to supply and deliver gel and gloves to as many homes in the care sector around us as we could. "Bringing the bears into our lodge had come about after Jonathon May spotted them in that scrapyard, in Newcastle-under-Lyme." Son of the late Gawsworth cattle dealer John Barratt, Andy was a second team prop at Congleton Rugby Club until 1994, when a viral infection inside his heart forced him to have a pacemaker fitted and to quit the sport. He filled the gap in his social life after being introduced to Freemasonry, and has helped out ever since. Head of Cheshire Freemasons, Stephen Blank, wrote to Andy to congratulate him and thanked the lodge members for what he said was "meeting a significant challenge in serving their local community." Stephen said in his letter: "Such sterling contribution to the fight against Covid epitomises the values of Freemasonry." To find out more about Freemasonry in Congleton and Cheshire, please visit this link. Congleton: Have you signed up for our Friday weekly newsletter? It contains each week's top 10 Congleton news stories, and one FREE exclusive article? 3600 of you have signed up already. Simply enter your email address in the shaded box below or on this link. Free from pop-up ads, or unwanted surveys, Congleton Nub News is a quality online newspaper which produces 15-20 stories a week for our town. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter.