SANTA PAUSE
Jimmy warned after waving from jeep
A Cambuslang community stalwart who dressed up as Santa for local children was chinned by the cops after waving from the back of a jeep.
Each year Jimmy Lindsay, of Thomson Grove, dons a Santa Claus costume, hops on board the back of his friend Ralph Caldwell's jeep and waves to the children of the Morriston Park Drive estate.
This takes place while his wife Margaret and friends dish out selection boxes on foot. Jimmy's grandson Jason (11) rides shotgun and provides Christmas music for the annual event, which has been going on for the past eight years.
Jimmy (69) stood on the back of the jeep, which has a top which can be taken down to convert it into a pick-up truck.
After they finished driving round the estate, they took the car to the Morrison's supermarket cark park so Jimmy could take off his fake beard and Santa costume, with the children none the wiser.
However, he was left stunned as two police officers approached him when he finished the tradtion last Sunday (December 21).
He said: "I felt like saying 'do you have nothing better to do, lads?’.
“We’ve been doing this for a while now, everyone in the estate loves it, the kids love it and it’s doing no harm. The jeep is only going about four or five miles an hour – if that.
“My grandson was terrified, he thought his grandad was getting lifted.
“We’re only trying to bring a bit of Christmas cheer. I asked them could we do it next year if we had a police escort. They said maybe, but we’d have to ask closer to the time.
“It takes us only 20 minutes to go round in the jeep, if we did it on foot it would take hours.”
Jimmy was given a community
award for his voluntary work with the Boys’ Brigade and for his annual Santa routine.
Margaret is part of a committee who collects money to get the grass cut in the common land in the area. However they ask residents to put in a tad more to buy selection boxes for the kids.
Chief inspector at Rutherglen Police Office Pat O’Callaghan said that although driving in this manner constituted a criminal offence, which could result in a £100 fixed penalty notice and three points on the licence of driver, the officers had used their discretion not to charge anyone.
He also said that one possible solution for next year could be to use a bolton seat in the back of the vehicle and added: “With regards to moving forward for next year we would be happy for Mr Lindsay to contact us so we could advise him on measures he could take.”