Santa Claus surprises Beeston children with gifts leaving them 'beaming with joy'

Father Christmas paid a visit to the Beeston Longroyds community on Sunday, handing out gifts including toys, video games and chocolate selection boxes.

Gareth Clark got the call from the North Pole and was enlisted by Father Christmas himself to help deliver the presents with a team of volunteers from local Facebook group Friends of Hunslet Moor.

As children were unable to visit Santa this year due to Covid-19 restrictions, the group's chairwoman Brenda Barlow posted an appeal for gifts online and was inundated with donations from local residents and businesses.

Despite torrential rain, Santa and his team flew down to Beeston and visited families on their doorsteps, following social distancing rules and handing out free gifts.

Gareth, 37, said the event brought joy to families in the community after what has been a difficult year for many.

The father-of-two said: “The children were ecstatic, absolutely over the moon. Their faces were beaming with joy, they were so amazed.

“We walked down the street with a speaker blaring music out, shouting ‘ho ho ho’ to let know everyone know that Santa had arrived!

“Some of the children didn’t know we were coming as their parents kept it a secret, so the expressions on their faces were priceless. It brought so much joy to the community.”

Six-year-old Althea Davies was one of the children who received a surprise visit from Santa, who brought her a fairy doll.

Her mum Elle said: "I had told Althea that she wouldn't get to see Santa this year because of coronavirus and she was really surprised when he paid her a special visit to her house.

"She was so excited when Santa shouted 'ho ho ho, Merry Christmas' and waved at her from the street."

Gareth hopes to continue the tradition next year reaching out to more communities, giving presents to children who may not receive many Christmas gifts.

He added: “Some of the children in the area don’t have much, they might not get as many presents as most kids and might not be able to afford to see Santa even on a normal Christmas.

“So for Santa to come to them just made their day.

“The best thing was, even though we had parents register for a gift in advance, some children came out to see us that we didn’t know about. We had extra selection boxes on hand to give them a gift.

“We’ve had requests to expand it further next year as it was such a success, there were so many happy children."

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