SANTA Claus himself is getting ready to visit Redditch residents on his annual Christmas sleigh ride.

Redditch Round Table members have been busy brushing down the reindeer's and readying the famous red suit before Father Christmas comes to town.

This year the group will be doing things a little differently due to Covid-19 restrictions. They are reminding residents to give Santa’s helpers space and wave from a safe distance.

Donations will not be collected physically during the sleigh routes, but online donations are welcome, as well as text giving.

Here are the dates for this year:

Thursday 10th December - Greenlands and Lodge Park

Friday 11th December - Matchborough and Ipsley

Saturday 12th December - Webheath

Sunday 13th December - Headless Cross

Monday 14th December - Oakenshaw

Tuesday 15th December - Churchill

Wednesday 16th December - Crabbs Cross and Hunt End

Thursday 17th December - Winyates Green and Winyates East

Friday 18th December - Woodrow

Saturday 19th December - Brockhill and Batchley

People can donate online via easydonate.org/REDDITCH. Or people can text a donation using one of the following numbers; To donate £1, text REDDITCH to 70201, To donate £3, text REDDITCH to 70331, To donate £5, text REDDITCH to 70970, To donate £10, text REDDITCH to 70191.

Table chairman Paul Marsh said: “This year has been tough for a lot of people, and we just want to take Santa round to as many kids as we can We are not going to be knocking doors and asking for donations this year, but if you do wish to give then we have the text lines and online options available.

"Whilst we only have 10 nights to bring the sleigh round this year we have also changed every single route we do and updated them to include new parts of the areas we may not have been to in several years, or at all, in an effort to get Santa round to more people. We really hope to see you all as we make our way around the town and we hope you all have a merry Christmas.”

“Our routes will have highlighted roads we hope to be able get around on our Facebook page once they are confirmed, these will also be available on our website and our free App as well, so check them out”.

“We love seeing the excited faces all along our routes, our previous Santa sleigh’s have helped us raise much-needed funds for local charities and we are keen to continue to show our support and this year do even more! We can’t wait to see all the community from 10th December to the 19th December.”