A GROUP of six Wee County friends took it upon themselves to spread some festive cheer over the Christmas period as they travelled around Clacks dressed as Santa.

Kids got the chance to see Father Christmas and receive a chocolate treat from one of the many elves travelling alongside him.

The group built the sleigh from scratch and over the past three years have raised almost £3000 for local charities.

Organiser Darren Douglas portrayed one of the elves and seeing the excitement on children’s faces makes it all worth it.

He said: “We started off only covering Menstrie Mains and Alloa Park Drive as that is where most of us live.

“Before we knew it, it grew quite quickly, people were phoning and texting us and requesting us to visit their area.

“We covered streets in Alloa, Tullibody, Clackmannan, Sauchie, Fishcross, Tillicoultry, Alva and Menstrie over two nights.”

Darren confirmed he used his skills as a joiner to build the sleigh for scratch and thanked Gilvear Farm in Menstrie for allowing the group to store it there.

This year, the funds raised, which sits at more than £1500 at time of writing, will be given to the Aiden Joyce Memorial Fund.

Darren continued: “We picked this charity after asking suggestions on our Facebook page and this cause seemed to be one of the most popular.

“Aidan’s mum and dad came out to see us in Tillicoultry and had our picture taken and gave us a big hug.

“They are doing a fantastic job in bringing heart screening to the area, we were so pleased we could help.

“We all love doing it, we have the best laughs and the children’s excitement and faces make the organising and planning all worth it.”

Darren also thanked a number of businesses for their ongoing support for the Santa sleigh fundraiser this Christmas.

These include Central Joinery, Carruthers Welding Services, David Beveridge & Sons Joiners/Builders, Libertas Financial Management Ltd, Wee County Plumbing & Heating, The Boll Holiday Cottages, Stephen Hunter Electrical Services, Kevin Bryce Plumbing and Heating, Glenview Projects, Deck the Hoose, CMAV Removals Storage & Moving Solutions, Alloa Tool Hire Centre.

More information and details on how to give donations can be found at the Santa’s Sleigh Facebook page.