Santa swoops through south Norfolk ahead of Christmas Day
Santa Claus arrived early for people in south Norfolk as community groups set up festive displays ahead of Christmas Day.
In Diss, Father Christmas took time out of his busy schedule to stop by the Mere’s Mouth, while members of Diss Waveney Rotary Club handed out sweets and took collections from shoppers and passers-by.
Over the space of three days, the group managed to raise more than £800 for local causes.
“Everyone was so generous,” said Rotary club president Elaine Bootman.
“People were singing along to the music and some were coming up to us to tell us that we had brightened up their day.
“It’’s important to cheer up the high street in times like these.”
Over in Harleston, Saint Nick teamed up with members of the Harleston Round Table as they made their way through residential streets in the town – with a giant Christmas tree in tow.
Members of the group used a quad bike to tow the sleigh past people’s homes with a trailer carrying a 15ft Christmas tree attached to the back.
The group made their way through Harleston over three days, before taking the festive cheer over to Pulham and Long Stratton for one day each.
“It went down a real hit,” said Tom Banks, a member of Harleston Round Table. “It’s not often you see a 15ft tree driving through Harleston on a trailer.
“There was huge crowds of children who were absolutely over the moon.”
“There was a surprising number of people who came out and said ‘thank you for what you’re doing’, because people really needed it after the last year of craziness.”
It carries on a long running tradition in Harleston, and raised more than £1,400 for a number of local charities and organisations, including community transport volunteer group Bact and Mel’s Hedgehog Sanctuary in Brockdish.
“There was a woman in her early 30s who remembered it from when she was a child,” added Mr Banks, 40, who works as a firefighter.
“She said it was nice to see something she enjoyed as a girl, and now her son could see the same thing.”
