A familiar face popped into town this week as Santa himself took a trip around the streets of Weoley Castle and Selly Oak in his very own neon sleigh.

Accompanied by his very happy helpers from the Stonehouse Gang, Santa took some time out of his very busy schedule to visit a number of streets in the local area – waving to to local families and taking lots of present requests as he went. Even a couple of local police officers (pictured here) took the opportunity to check that their Christmas lists had been received.

Santa’s sleigh is an annual festive occasion that’s run by the Stonehouse Gang on Burnel Road to give children in the local area the opportunity to see Santa on their doorstep as leader, Rob Green explains:

“The looks on the childrens’ faces as we travel around with Santa is amazing. People know we’re coming when they hear the festive tunes belting out of his sleigh and you see the little faces appear at the windows – it just makes Christmas for me.

“One child was so excited and his mum said it’s because she couldn’t afford to take him to a shop to see Santa this year. The little boy said that Santa must be real because he came to his house. That’s exactly the reason we do it.”