Santa Straws! Giant character a big hit at farm shop

Members of the Swift family, who run Whitegate Far, in Wheaton Aston, near Weston Park, decided to build the huge Santa after seeing similar designs on the internet. Michelle Thomas, a member of the family, said: "It's nice to do something for people, it costs nothing.

"We'd seen it on the internet but there'd never been anything like it round here.

"It was mainly just for the children who come into the shop. We've had an animal corner for the last three years, which they love, but we wanted to do something different.

Ms Thomas said that visitors to the shop had been "amazed" by the huge hay bale statue.

The super-sized Santa took one-and-a-half days to complete, with the stitching together of the classic red coat and hat, black belt and white beard taking longer to finish than the erection of the five hay bales that make up the structure.

"It took me a whole day to dress him," said Ms Thomas. "I was at it until it got dark.

"People might be surprised to learn we've actually had to nail the beard in place. Those hay bales are pretty tough."

Ms Thomas demonstrated her bravery and unswerving commitment to fostering Christmas spirit by stitching Father Christmas's costume from the platform of a cherry picker despite a fear heights.

"The rest were just shouting instructions from the bottom," she laughed. "We're hoping it will be a good advertisement for the farm shop.

"Loads of people know us as the farm shop with all the straw bales behind it, so we thought we'd use them for something different."

She added: "We might do a turkey next year."

The huge Father Christmas, which has already withstood many windy nights, will continue to watch over the farm until the New Year.