A Chirk father who helped to reinstate a Santa parade in Chirk last Christmas has appealed for help to repeat the event this year.

Matthew Fleet, 25, was disappointed to learn that no festive float was scheduled to visit the town in 2015 and decided to take matters into his own hands.

He donned Santa’s famous red and white robes and played the part himself, while fellow volunteers gave out sweets to local children and collected donations for local good causes.

Earlier requests made via social media saw local residents volunteer the use of a vehicle and trailer for the event, while businesses and retailers donated confectionery.

Buoyed by the success of the 2015 parade, Matthew is keen to bring festive cheer to his home town once more.

He said: “The outcome of last year’s parade was fantastic and the donations were unbelievable.

“It made a lot of people very happy, so this year I would like to do the same because I want to keep the belief the kids have in Santa going.

“I’m really struggling this year as we have no sleigh so I’m currently looking for someone to donate some wood, someone to help build it and somewhere to build it. I am going to pop into Kronospan and see if they can donate the wood to make the sleigh.

“I hope this year we can go bigger and better as we have more time to prepare to make sure everything is perfect, so if there is anyone out there who can let me use a workshop that they have so I can build the sleigh myself that would be great.

“This year all funds raised will be split between several local good causes, I just haven’t decided which ones yet.”

Anyone who can assist with this year’s event  can contact Matt via Facebook or call him on 01691 777145.