Volunteers walk 1,000 miles to bring cheer to villagers

For 17 evenings throughout December members of the Deepings Lions Club and the Rotary Club of the Deepings, with good support from Deepings Interact, family and friends, took their Santa sleigh out in all weathers through the streets and estates of Market Deeping and Deeping St James and the villages of Glinton, Northborough, Peakirk, Deeping Gate, Baston, Frognall, Langtoft, West Deeping and Tallington. But, the foot-slogging marathon was well worth the effort, as the Santa sleigh raised just over £10,000, a new record for the annual fundraiser.

Vince Sterland, of the Deepings Lions, said: “It was fantastic to see the extremely excited children and the smiles on people’s faces when we arrived. We had a brilliant collection this year with amazingly only two wet nights, culminating in a fantastic sum of just over £10,000.

“On behalf of The Deepings Lions and Rotary Club of the Deepings I would like to thank all the people in the Deepings and surrounding villages for their support.”

Rotarian Carl Midgley added: “Rotarians, Lions, their families and friends working together spend a lot of time taking Santa on his rounds because we all think helping Santa is a wonderful thing to be part of.”