Claus wars

It seems I was wrong and Santas do require constant surveillance. The Shropshire Star (of course) reports:

Fun runners dressed as Father Christmas were involved in a drunken brawl after the end of Newtown's famous charity run, police revealed today.

Officers had to draw batons and use CS gas to quell the behaviour of a crowd of yobs in the town centre on Sunday night. Some were still wearing their Santa costumes.

It's a sign of the times that the use of CS gas by the police in such circumstances is now treated as commonplace.

Still a big hello to the appropriately named PC Slaymaker, who is quoted in the article.