FATHER Christmas will be at a garden centre in Worcester on the lead-up to Christmas to help raise money for bereaved children.

Santa will be appearing at the St Peter’s Garden Centre Grotto on the weekends up until Christmas Day with a little bit of help from the members of the Lechmere Lodge of Mark Master Masons in Worcester.

Santa will be on duty from 9am until 5pm on Saturdays, and 11am until 4pm on Sundays. But on Sunday, December 7 at 11am, Santa will arrive by sleigh and reindeer. St Peter’s Garden Centre, Norton, and the masons have been supporting Noah’s Ark Trust for the last four years, raising much needed funds for the charity.

Bob Reid of the masons said: “The masons identify strongly with the Ark and its significance as a safe place of refuge. We are pleased to support Noah’s Ark Trust and their work with local children”.

On Saturdays he will be having breakfast with the children in the restaurant from 9am until 10.30am before starting work at the grotto.

Stuart Potter, community fund-raiser for the charity, added: “We are extremely grateful to Tony Blake and the masons who do such a fantastic job in support of Noah’s Ark. “The Christmas Grotto at St Peter’s Garden Centre has become an annual event that we all look forward to. It’s lovely to see the children’s faces when they meet Santa. They really engage with him and I know that everyone involved has a great time while helping to raise much-needed funding for our work. We can’t wait to see the reindeer arrive on the seventh. That should be a very special occasion.”

Currently, your Worcester News and the Noah’s Ark Trust are running the Towards A Brighter Future appeal, where they are looking to raise money and awareness of the charity, and help them find a new home within the heart of the community.