Health and safety killjoys force Santa to wear a seatbelt in his 5mph sleigh

But Santa's unblemished driving record is not enough to satisfy the health and safety brigade.

They have ordered him to wear a seatbelt - at least when he visits Halesowen, West Midlands.

The local rotary club has been forced to fit a belt to the sleigh he uses there - or face a £200 increase in its insurance premiums.

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President of the Halesowen and Rowley Regis Rotary Club Barry Wheeler said they were shocked at the news from their insurers.

Santa reaches a cruising speed of only 5mph while in town, as a Land Rover pulls the sleigh to give the reindeer a rest.

Mr Wheeler said: "He would be more likely to injure himself getting in and out of the sleigh than actually falling out of it."

He added: "We have done the sleigh round the towns for something like 20 years. Every year we have made sure Santa gets to go through town and wave to the children.

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"But this year we found out we actually needed a much more wideranging insurance policy for Santa riding on the sleigh because of health and safety rules. It would have run into a four-figure sum."

He said that the group paid for Santa's visits out of club funds, and could not afford the higher premium.

Luckily, one of the Rotary Club members owned a garage and took the sleigh in to be refurbished, with a big harness to reach around St Nick's belly.

"At least this will make sure Santa never falls out," said Mr Wheeler.

"It seems so silly, but it's just what we have had to do to make sure the event stays running. It was so worrying to think we wouldn't be able to hold the event just because of something like insurance.

"It somewhat takes the magic out of it. But at least we get to carry on and Santa can carry on spreading his Christmas cheer."

Kelly Ostler, from the Association of British Insurers, said: "Premiums are set according to both the risk and the amount that the courts award for personal injury claims.

"Awards are rising by 10 per cent every year and this, coupled with the growing compensation culture, means that insurers are paying out more and more.

"We want people to be able to enjoy themselves while being protected against other people's possible negligence.

"This is as much about protecting Santa from other drivers as protecting him from the speed of his sleigh."