Date: 12th December, 2016
Firefighters from Westlea fire station have been out and about in West Swindon to help Santa visit local streets in a vintage fire engine.
As well as providing sweets to local children and playing Christmas carols, the crew is collecting donations for the Fire Fighters Charity.
Father Christmas and his 1943 Leyland turntable ladder fire appliance have already been to the Westlea area, raising £402 – a record amount for one evening.
He will be in the Eastleaze and Shaw areas during the evening of Tuesday 13 December, then in Sparcells and Peatmoor during the evening of Monday 19 December.
The Fire Fighters Charity provides help to serving and retired personnel, their widows/widowers and young dependants through the provision of sheltered accommodation, recuperative facilities, rehabilitation and therapy, as well as giving financial support to those who need it.
The charity works with some 11,000 beneficiaries every year at a cost of £9 million per annum, and these services are financed almost exclusively by fundraising.