Elf ’n’ safety brigade ban Santa from having a beard
GETTING into the spirit of the season, taxi driver David Leonard was thrilled with his plan to dress as Father Christmas to raise money for charity.
But he wasn’t prepared for elf ’n’ safety jobsworths to put a dampener on his well-meaning gesture – by banning him from wearing a white beard.
The ruling was applied by Barnsley Council, who had no problem with him wearing a red Santa suit, decorating his cab with lights and baubles or holding a bucket collection.
But they claimed Mr Leonard’s curly false beard would fall foul of their red tape – because it would make him unidentifiable.
Mr Leonard, of Hoyland, South Yorkshire, is hoping to raise £2,500 for Barnsley Hospice. The father-of-three, who has worked as a driver for the past 20 years, said the response to his Santa outfit has been great – despite the council’s beard ban.
The 43-year-old, who will wear his costume in his eight-seater cab up until his night shift on Christmas Day, said: ‘Last year it was ten years since my mum passed away at Barnsley Hospice, and I decided to do something for them. I know the council are strict so I rang them straight away. I spoke to them on the phone and they said yes, yes, yes to everything and no to the beard. They allowed me to dress as Santa, to collect money in a bucket and even trim up my bus with decorations. The one thing I thought they would let me do was wear Santa’s beard – but no.’
He added: ‘As I’m a taxi driver we have to show our picture at all times, so mine hangs from the mirror. They said that people wouldn’t recognise me in the picture. There are very strict rules for private hire taxi drivers and I understand there have to be. But it seems a bit daft to me.’
However he hasn’t let the ruling deter him – and is even growing his own facial hair to compensate for his lack of a beard, although he admits it isn’t quite the right colour.
Barnsley councillor Roy Miller said: ‘We fully support Mr Leonard in his fundraising efforts but he has been advised not to wear a false beard as this would obscure his face and drivers are required to display their photographic licence at all times. Safety of the public is our paramount concern.’