Santa banned from sleigh in Christmas elf ‘n’ safety row
HEALTH and safety zealots sparked anger yesterday after banning Father Christmas from riding his sleigh.
For the past 40 years Santa has brought the joy of Christmas to hundreds of children by riding his brightly lit sleigh without mishap through the streets of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex.
But now killjoys have ruled that it is too dangerous for Father Christmas to use his traditional means of transport – even though it travels at just 5mph.
Insurers told organisers they would have to install a seat belt and a roll bar for Santa.
Without the extra safety measures in place, cover would only be provided if Santa rides in the car towing the festive float.
Now Brighton Rotary Club, which runs the annual event, has been forced to replace Santa Claus with a Snow Queen plastic dummy.
Yesterday disappointed parents said the grounding of Santa had taken the magic out of Christmas.
Mother-of-two Clare Walker, 34, who has been watching the procession since her childhood, said: “It’s a highlight of the Christmas season for our family.
“There have never been any problems. I’ve never seen Santa falling off his sleigh. It moves so slowly anyway, I can’t see how there’s any chance of him or anyone else coming to any harm.
“The Snow Queen is brightly lit up and looks very nice but everyone knows it is Santa who rides his sleigh at Christmas. You can’t replace him with something else.”
A father of two young girls, who did not want to be named, said his daughters had spotted the sleigh on its rounds and wanted to know why Santa wasn’t in it. He said: “I had to tell them I didn’t know. Surely common sense will prevail and the insurance company will be able to cover Santa next year.”
The event raises thousands of pounds each year for dozens of charities. As Santa tours the area in his float, elves and helpers collect cash for good causes on the way.
Alan Pocock, 73, vice president of Brighton Rotary Club, who has donned the Father Christmas outfit for the past 10 years, said: “It’s ridiculous that after 40 years of Santa riding in his sleigh he has now been banished to the towing car and his place has been taken by the Snow Queen.
“It’s all down to the insurance firm who say that if an accident were to occur then Santa would not be covered.” Mr Pocock said installing extra safety equipment to keep Santa strapped in was not an option. “Obviously we don’t want to do that because it could prove costly and it is important that every penny we raise goes to charity.
“It’s a real shame because it is a tradition that has been going on for decades and it places unnecessary restrictions on an event which raises a lot of money for good causes and delights hundreds of children each year.”
He added: “We will not let these restrictions bother us and we are still out with our sleigh bringing festive cheer and raising money for charity.
“I think the Snow Queen looks very nice and I’ll be joining my Christmas helpers with our buckets to raise money for our charities.”
Last night the Health and Safety Executive said: “There are no health and safety regulations at all that would prevent this activity.”
A spokeswoman for the Association of British Insurers said there was “usually” no problem with Santa and his sleigh.
Making light of the issue, the association said in a statement: “This is the kind of surprise we don’t like to hear about at Christmas. Despite checking it once and checking it twice we don’t know exactly what’s happened in this case. Perhaps Brighton Rotary Club are on the naughty list?”
SHOULD we laugh or cry at the news that ’elf and safety have grounded Santa? Has everyone finally taken leave of any common sense? This is a country that once ran a huge global empire, now a harmless sleigh ride through Brighton and Hove is deemed a safety risk. What would these people do if faced with a real crisis? We hope we never find out.