Wigan councillor dresses up as Santa to spread Christmas cheer

The youngsters of the Bryn estate, Nicol Mere and Land Gate were all treated to a visit from Santa himself, arriving on a sledge before handing out the sweet goodies.

Behind the idea (and the beard) was Coun Steve Jones who, along with a group of residents, wants to bring back more taditional activities to Bryn as a way to raise community spirit.

Originally only having an aluminium trailer to work with, they planned on refurbishing it prior to the festive event. Fortunately Frank Bowker from The Bridge at Bryn was able to locate a sledge previously used by the Rotary Club for their float – which they now have in storage for future years.

Coun Jones said: “Bryn is a very special place to me but we do lack an identity. My aim is to build community spirit which will lead to residents being proud to be from Bryn.

"Our committee is all about bringing those traditional things back, such as the Santa floats and carnivals.”

Coun Jones had a picture and spent a couple of minutes with each child before giving them each a selection box. Arriving with 250 for the first of two runs, they quickly ran out before more had to be bought.

Social media helped spread the word resulting in a large crowd being present for the tours. The second made its way round the Pit Pony estate, Wentworth Road and the estate surrounding Cansfield High School.

In a social media post Coun Jones said: “Absolutely amazing community spirit tonight we stopped and greeted over 250 children thank you to everyone who came out and a huge thank you to all the volunteers who walked in the cold. Also a big thank you to Bob for towing us around.”

One resident from Land Gate said: “He’s gone out of his way in the weather and made my little boy’s day. This hasn’t been done for a few years now because of the pandemic.”