A HANDY man has been given a very special new job this Christmas.

Dave Heather, from Sible Hedingham, has been spreading Christmas cheer by dressing up as the most festive character of them all- Father Christmas.

In his homemade chimney, Dave has been visiting all of the houses in Sible Hedingham and Castle Hedingham with his elves to raise money for the St Peter's Primary School and 1st Castle Hedingham Scouts.

Dave, who is 41, is a Governor at St Peter's Primary School where his son, Samuel attends, he is also a scout leader for the Castle Hedingham Scouts.

He said: "I'm a local lad and about 40 years ago they used to do it, but it stopped.

"I'm a leader at the local cub group and I said I would take it on and it just went from there really."

Dave, who goes under the name of Santa, visited homes in Castle Hedingham on Monday and Tuesday evenings and Sible Hedingham on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings last week.

His helpful elves, who were volunteers from the primary school and the scout group, ran from door to door letting people know that Santa was in town and collecting donations.

Dave said: "What an experience on the Bloors homes estate.

"They came out in what felt like their hundreds and followed Santa and his elves around the whole estate."

The week of festive travelling was funded by Dave's property management business, What A Difference A Dave Makes.

"It's really fantastic, I have the easy bit, it's the elves that do the hard work.

"They're out in all weathers- especially Wednesday when the weather was not too kind to us- but they're out from 6pm till 8.30pm bringing smiles and joy to the little kids faces."

Over the course of the week Dave and his helpers managed to raise £1470 by visiting the two villages.

The money will be split evenly between the two causes.

Dave added: "I would also really like to thank ATV Rentals who we hired the van from for the week, Ferg Ranson at Riverside Plumbing and Heating for the sound system, and my administrator Selina Fitzgerald.

"My Santa costume was from Chameleon Costumes in Braintree, and I would recommend if you need a costume to get it from there.

"And of course, thank you to my little elves."

Both Dave and the team hope to bring this tradition back to Castle and Sible Hedingham.