COSMETIC surgery is such big business these days that even teddy bears are going under the surgeon's knife.

Battered teddies with unsightly bodies are being given major surgery under the experienced hand of Lyn Mather, of Blackburn.

And while most teddies have a chance of survival, some are beyond repair. The only comfort for their bear-eaved owners is that their best pal can give others a better life by donating vital "organs".

Teddy patients enjoy the tender loving care of former first-aider Lyn at her Nostalgia Teddies dealership in the GB Antiques Centre at Lancaster until they are well enough to return to their owners. The most common ailments are lost eyes or torn fur but some have horrific injuries caused by the family dog.

Antique dealer Lyn said: "Some teddies come in and they are beyond salvation.

"I have to be very sensitive when I tell the owners that their teddy is way past it's sell-by date and has to be laid to rest.

"I tell them in the nicest possible way but their eyes always fill up with tears.

"You will be amazed how many people love their teddy bears, maybe because they have grown up with them.

"These people aren't eccentric - they are wonderful!" Lyn, whose daughter Lisa an assistant manager at Nostalgia Teddies, said: "One teddy was in a terrible state.

"He had no arms, no legs and no stuffing but he was transformed in two weeks and his owner was speechless.

"I much prefer mending teddies than people."

Antique dealer Lyn, who lives on Bolton Road, Ewood, is herself an avid teddy bear collector, having accumulated over 80 of the furry friends with the added enthusiasm of her friend Anita.

She gave her first teddy away when she emigrated to Australia in the '60s. She left it with a neighbour's dog, which had a peculiar fondness for the bear. The 40-year-old - who has a sticker on the windscreen of her car bearing the slogan "A bear is for life, not just for Christmas" - said: "When I returned from Australia I saw an identical teddy to my old one and began collecting them."

Lyn, a former wallpaper factory worker, changed of careers and went into the antique business, with the sideline of repairing teddies for grateful owners for next to nothing. She said: "This is a nice job and I meet different people all the time.

"I don't charge for labour

"I just enjoy bringing teddies back to life.

"It's a labour of love."

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