A FAMILY are appealing for help in reuniting a little girl with a cuddly toy lost on a visit to a popular pier.

Francisco Mardones said his daughter Diana, nine, lost her stuffed penguin while she was playing on the coin pushers in the arcades on Brighton Palace Pier on January 30.

A social media campaign appealing for help in finding Diana’s precious penguin, named Pingui, has been launched, but Franciso said they are no closer to finding the toy.

Your Local Guardian: Diana and her twin sister Laura with their toysDiana and her twin sister Laura with their toys

Francisco, who lives in Croydon, said Diana would be “devastated” if Pingui could not be found.

The family were visiting the pier on a trip to the city, and Diana wanted to take Pingui along.

Francisco said: “My wife Gabriela and I searched every part of the Palace Pier for the penguin. We didn’t find it.

Your Local Guardian: The toys at the Colosseum in RomeThe toys at the Colosseum in Rome

“We think that someone may have mistaken it for a prize from one of the machines, so it could have been picked up by anyone, and then they could have just disappeared.

“We haven’t had any luck finding it yet, and it’s so important to her. It was a toy given to her on her first birthday.

“She’s grown up with it.”

Pingui was bought in Punta Arenas in Chile for Diana’s first birthday, and her twin sister Laura was given a toy lamb.

Your Local Guardian: Diana as a baby with Pingui Diana as a baby with Pingui

Since then, the teddies have been all over the world, and had photos taken at famous and historic landmarks, including the Colosseum in Rome and the La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

Francisco said Pignui is his daughter’s “emotional support and that she has been “very upset” since it was lost.

He said: “She is very sad and worried about the toy because to her, it’s alive.

“She’s always asking ‘where is my penguin’. It is more than a toy for her. Both Diana and her sister see the toys as emotional support.”

The family are asking people to share their appeal using the hashtag #PinguiGoHome.

If you have any information about the whereabouts of Pingui, you can contact olivia.marshall@newsquest.co.uk, or gabriemora@gmail.com.

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