Aylesbury Santa float raises thousands for charity, breaking previous record

A record amount of money has been raised for charity by the Aylesbury Rotary Club this Christmas.

The group is still counting the money raised for good causes, courtesy of Aylesbury residents who passed money onto Santa and his elves as he floated through town.

For a fortnight a festive float manned by Santa and his helpers travelled through town, playing festive songs, passing on Christmas joy, while collecting money for charities.

Since counting began, almost 30,000 coins which weighed more than 35kg, have been sorted through, and there's still more donations to account for.

Club treasurer Frank Falcon said, “We would like to say a huge thank you to Aylesbury folk. It’s looking like another record is about to be broken as we have already exceeded last year’s amazing £9,000 total and are still waiting for the last of the on-line and text payments to come in.”

Once final figures are known, the club will divide the takings to make donations to a dozen or more local charities and food banks.

An Aylesbury Rotary Club spokesperson added: "This tremendous feat could only be achieved by large numbers of people giving up their time and going out of their way to help Santa and his rotary team.

"It was remarkable that so many helpers braved not only the chilly nights, but also cheerfully accepted the extra precautions needed to make the event Covid secure.

"Thanks must go especially to the small army of sleigh drivers, engineers, collectors, cleaners, money counters and the Explorer Scouts. Aylesbury Town Centre and Friars Square Management also helped with sites for the static float and storage facilities and of course the townspeople came out in their hundreds once again to support us.

"We wish everyone a Very Happy New Year and look forward to sending out the charity cheques very soon."

Every year the rotary club organises for Santa and his helpers to travel around Aylesbury collecting money for good charitable causes.