Santa not letting Covid-19 stop him as Rotary sleigh ready to tour Leighton Buzzard

Having to be cautious, the club has come up with a social distancing plan to ensure Santa and his sleigh still tour the town.

Richard Johnson OBE, of the Rotary Club of Leighton Linslade, said: “It was pretty clear from an early stage that we wouldn’t be able to use elves to knock on doors with collecting buckets and so we are encouraging electronic and text giving instead.

“One of the big new aspects this year is that Santa will be carrying a GPS tracker so children and their parents can see exactly where he is every night, which we hope will encourage people to stand on their doorsteps and in their gardens to give him a wave as he passes by.

“We are determined to bring a little bit of sparkle throughout December. Our aim, as always, is to bring happiness and joy and maybe in 2020 it’s required more than ever, and, of course, the funds raised at Christmas are invested back into the community throughout the year.”

The club has also had to cancel their popular Carols in the High Street event on Christmas Eve and Santa will not be visiting any supermarkets.

To support Rotary:

Text Santa 2 to 70227 to give £2.

Text Santa 5 to 70227 to give £5.

Text Santa 10 to 70227 to give £10 or text Santa between 1 and 20 (full pounds) for £1 to £20 donations.

You can also donate via https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/RotarySanta

Follow the tracker and keep up to date with any changes to the route at: https://qrgo.page.link/7yWKf

For more updates visit the Rotary Club of Leighton Linslade’s Facebook page.

Santa’s sleigh route will be as follows:

Friday 4th - Cotefield Drive area, 6pm.

Saturday 5th - Clarence Road area, 5pm.

Sunday 6th - Brooklands estate, 5pm.

Monday 7th - Stoke Road, Golden Riddy, Lime Grove and Rothschild Road, 6pm.

Wednesday 9th - Chestnut Hill/Rowley Furrows area, 6pm.

Friday 11th - South Street, Harrow Road/Richmond Road area, 6pm.

Saturday 12th - Billington Park and Marley Fields, 5pm.

Sunday 13th - Sandhills part 1, 4pm and Sandhills part 2, 5.30/5.45pm.

Monday 14th - Willow Bank Walk, Atterbury Avenue and Regents Street area, 6pm.

Tuesday 15th - Clipstone Park/Leeston Park area, 6pm.

Thursday 17th - Southcott/ Mentmore Road area, 6pm.

Friday 18th - Planets estate, 6pm.

Saturday 19th - Bideford Green part 1, 5.45pm.

Sunday 20th - Bideford Green part 2, 5pm.

Monday 21st - Heath and Reach, 6pm.

Tuesday 22nd - Plantation Road, Redwood Glade and Taylor’s Ride area, 6pm.

Wednesday 23rd - Meadow Way and Theedway, 6pm.