A squished Santa wouldn't a very merry Christmas make, but that's what almost happened in a Reading shopping this weekend. The entrance by the fat and jolly one was supposed to be one of merriment but when he slipped and lost his footing, this Santa found his beard trapped in the rigging and himself stuck dangling above shoppers for 30 minutes before soldiers came to cut him loose.

According to a shopping centre rep, "He could have just taken his beard off and let himself down, but he was such a professional and he didn't want to let the children down." That he was too petrified to move in case he plummeted to his death. But look, this is what you get for trying to have an "exciting" entrance for Santa each year. What's wrong with a simply sleigh I ask?