‘Pudsey Bear’ is refused passport

A woman who raised £4,000 for Children In Need by changing her name to Pudsey Bear has been refused a passport in her new name.

Eileen De Bont, a 37-year-old receptionist from Prestatyn, north Wales, legally adopted the name of the BBC appeal's one-eyed teddy by deed poll and changed her driver's licence, credit cards and tax forms accordingly. But her application for a new passport has been refused on the grounds that it is "frivolous".

The divorced mother-of-two said: "I now don't have a passport. My old one expired in October. If I get a passport in the name of Eileen I'm going to have trouble checking into hotels, hiring cars and even changing money." She is now unable to fly abroad with her daughters, aged 10 and 13.