CRAZY ABOUT POOH BEAR

She didn’t set out to be the world record holder for the biggest Winnie the Pooh collection but now it’s her pride and joy

- MELON RADEBE

THE room is packed to the rafters with enough cuddly creatures to fill every corner of the 100 Acre Wood.

Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, Owl and Christopher Robin – they’re all there in their hundreds, jostling for space on shelves, peering out from the tops of cupboards, snuggled up on the windowsill, hogging every available centimetre of the floor.

Pooh and his friends are Deb Hoffmann’s pride and joy – and her impressive collection of the characters author AA Milne made famous has put her firmly in the record books.

Deb (58), who lives in Wisconsin in the US, has the biggest Winnie the Pooh collection on the planet – a fact confirmed by the people who decide the Guinness World Records.

Her collection boasts 23 600 pieces and includes T-shirts, jackets, mugs, plaques, pictures, notepads and earrings depicting the honey-hungry bear and his famous friends.

Deb has been the holder of the world record since 2008, which is “quite an honour”, she tells YOU when we chat to her via video call. “I never set out to set the Guinness World Record – it just kind of happened.”

Deb, who’s growing her collection all the time, submitted proof of her stash to the global record body after a friend remarked she probably had the biggest bank of Winnie the Pooh memorabilia on the globe.

The friend was right. “And it kind of took on a life from there,” Deb says.

She purchases most of the items for her treasure trove through thrift stores but people have also started donating to her collection.

“The value is well over a million dollars,” she says proudly.