Yo-ho-ho! Santa comes to town

Photo: Pictures by CHRIS SUNDERLAND

Santa arrives in Oldham town centre.

THOUSANDS of people lined the streets in Oldham town centre to see Father Christmas move into his new grotto.

Santa and his real reindeers paraded through the centre along with a host of dancers, bands and TV favourite Pingu.

The rain held off for the event which kicks off Oldham’s biggest ever festive countdown.

The Christmas lights will be switched on by Angelina Ballerina on Sunday and Santa’s Festive Village and ice rink will open on November 21.

Angelina Ballerina is a fictional mouse who features in a popular series of children’s books and TV.

Mark Llewellin, the event’s artistic director, said: “The parade was a huge success attracting people from right across the region.

“Oldham puts on a great Christmas events programme with free, traditional events at its heart. We begin planning the programme each spring and there is a huge amount of work behind the scenes involving many, many different organisations. This is teamwork at its best — and something that Oldham does best.”