A Bishop’s Stortford funeral firm is getting ready to take to the streets of Harlow to spread Christmas joy againc omplete with Santa in a horse-drawn sleigh.

The Barringtons Jingle Bell Sleigh will see Father Christmas touring the town on Saturday December 18th, from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.

Along the way the team will be collecting donations for Isabel Hospice as Santa greets children and families from his carriage.

Director Nikki Field said: “This year the sleigh ride will be over three hours (last year was two). This is with the aim to stop for a minute or two along the route when we can so that children can see a little more of Santa and parents can take photos. We also hope to collect more for St Clare Hospice this way too.

“Still mindful of Covid and any potential restrictions, we’re hoping to encourage families, schools, restaurants or any businesses along the route to hold their own Christmas party if they want to. This way, the children can stay warm, knowing that at some point Santa and his ‘reindeer’ will be passing.”

Nikki joked: “Lisa and I need to start exercising as we literally had to run the entire eight-mile route last year.

“Isabel and St Clare are helping with volunteers, together with our own families and friends that are all helping us as we need a whole team to pull this together on the nights.”