A WELSH-speaking teddy bear appears to be the latest in a long line of must have Christmas toys

The BabogBaby teddy bear is flying off the shelves in such numbers at Cariad News in Abergavenny that storeowner Gary Mills has trouble keeping up with demand.

The BabogBaby bear has a vocabulary of 33 words and can count to ten in Welsh as well as naming shapes and colours.

While this bear will not cause quite the festive frenzy of some past toy fads - such as Cabbage Patch dolls, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Beanie Babies, Bratz Dolls and Zhu Zhu Pets – Mr Mills says that as soon as the bears arrive in the shop they have sold out within hours.

The BabogBaby bear, which retails at £24.99 is aimed at the pre-school market and is the brainchild of film producer and toy creator Adrian Devane who launched an Irish Gaelic version two years ago and has since sold 35,000 bears.

But since its Welsh launch a few weeks ago the Galway-based company is shipping the Welsh bears into Wales as fast as they can be produced in China.

Mr Mills said: "We've only been selling them for just over a week and I've never known a demand like this. People are phoning up from great distances away and even more surprisingly they are prepared to travel all the way to Abergavenny just to get a bear.

"It's an amazing situation to be in and the bear complements the range of other Welsh products we sell that include love spoons and jewellery."

Mr Mills believes that because parents in increasing numbers are sending their children to Welsh-medium schools in Abergavenny and Pontypool the BabogBaby bear is a good way to introduce the important Welsh words at an early age to babies and toddlers.

The bear's creator said that he intends to send bears to Welsh celebrities who have young children and he believes that it won't be long before the Welsh bear, which uses the voice of 13-year-old Mali Thomas from Cowbridge, outsells its Irish counterpart.