Volunteers who helped Santa visit children in Malvern raised thousands of pounds for two good causes.

Members of Malvern Hills Round Table joined Father Christmas and his sleigh in visiting areas of Malvern throughout December.

And as Santa spoke with children and gave out sweets, parents gave generously to support Malvern Special Families and Acorns Hospice.

Malvern Gazette: Families came out to greet Santa despite the cold weatherFamilies came out to greet Santa despite the cold weather (Image: NQ)

The funds were boosted by Costa Coffee, accountants Ballards and software firm Splunk, so a total of £2,140.45 was raised for each charity.

Gareth Jones, chief executive of Malvern Special Families, said: “We were thrilled to receive the magnificent sum of £2,140.45 raised during the Malvern Hills Round Table Santa Sleigh event.

“This is a huge amount of money to us and will make a massive difference to the children and families we support.

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“The children were thrilled when we told them the news. As the equivalent amount was also raised for Acorn’s Hospice in Worcester, this was a tremendous effort from all those involved.

“On behalf of all the children and families supported by MSF I would like to thank all at Malvern Hills Round Table, Costa Coffee, volunteers, every member of the public that donated and of course Santa and his elves.

“It was a very chilly fortnight with temperatures down to -6 but the amount raised has warmed all our hearts.”

Malvern Gazette: The efforts of volunteers raised thousands for charityThe efforts of volunteers raised thousands for charity (Image: NQ)

Malvern Hills Round Table chairman Chris Evanson said: “When we sought to bring the Santa Sleigh back to Malvern in 2019 my eyebrows raised as it was such a good idea.

“The guys have really got their teeth into supporting this each year since. It is brilliant to see so many happy children, creating magical memories for them - and so many parents tell us how they remember seeing the sleigh each year when they were children.

“Our volunteers give up so much of their time each year to make this happen and we are incredibly grateful to them, as well as the people of Malvern who make the effort to come out and see us make donations for our nominated charities"

Malvern Round Table also managed to visit the children at Acorns Hospice with Father Christmas providing specially chosen gifts for each child, as well as making visits to Evendine House Carehome in Colwall and Osborne Court Respite Centre in Malvern.