FIREFIGHTERS came to the rescue this morning after Santa's air ambulance arrival in High Wycombe was cancelled at the last minute.

The Thames Valley & Chiltern Air Ambulance was called out to an emergency just before the big entrance at 10.45am.

But Santa Claus was able to make a swift transfer to a High Wycombe fire engine and delighted the crowd when he pulled into the Chiltern Shopping Centre on Frogmoor just before 11am.

Bill Pollard, the Chilterns Centre manager, said: “The fire service have come to the rescue. It's a good turn out and it's the first time we've had Santa's grotto in years.”

Michelle Hewitt, of the air ambulance trust, said: “We are really lucky that the emergency services work so well together. They made sure that Christmas hasn't been spoiled.”

Disraeli School pupil Eloise Carr, six, was among dozens of children to turn up. Her mum Wendy said: “We saw Santa do the lights on Thursday but we wanted to make sure we saw him again. We were the first people here this morning and relieved that the fire engine came.”