A Paddington Bear trail across some of London’s biggest landmarks was launched yesterday to raise money for the NSPCC’s ChildLine services.

Some 50 bear statues were designed by celebrities and placed in separate locations, including Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Heathrow airport, Horse Guards Parade and Paddington station.

The initiative marks a collaboration between the NSPCC, VisitLondon.com, Studiocanal and sponsor Barclaycard.

The bears will be auctioned off at Christies from 10 December to 7 January and proceeds will go to the NSPCC.

Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC said: “I hope that Londoners and visitors to the capital alike will enjoy exploring the Paddington Trail over the coming weeks. In the Paddington stories, Aunt Lucy implored Londoners to ‘please look after this bear’ and we’ll be giving people the chance to do just that when the statues are auctioned off later in the year in support of our ChildLine service.”

The statues were designed by a host of celebrities including David Beckham, Kate Moss, Emma Watson, Sandra Bullock, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Nicole Kidman and Boris Johnson.

Kate Moss’s ‘Goldiebear’ is displayed in the Christmas-themed window of Selfridges. Sandra Bullock, star of the film Gravity, created a space-inspired design – complete with astronaut’s outfit. Her bear can be viewed hanging from the ceiling at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

Boris Johnson, mayor of London, said: “London has a fine tradition of welcoming visitors from overseas and Paddington Bear is no exception. I hope Londoners and visitors to our great capital will follow the trail and perhaps offer him a marmalade sandwich or two wherever they find him.”

The bears will remain on display until 30 December.