Image source, Mark Roberts Image caption,

Mark Roberts began working as Santa as a new job during the Covid pandemic

By Peter Gillibrand

BBC News

A former miner has gone from bags of coal to sacks of toys with a new career as a professional Father Christmas.

Mark Roberts, 62, started his new job during the Covid pandemic and has spent thousands of pounds on his suit, sleigh, reindeer and grotto.

He said demand was huge, and parents and children have flocked to his grotto in Gelligaer, Caerphilly county, since it opened in November.

While this job is very different from being in a pit, it remains hard work.

Mr Roberts, from Gelligaer, said: "When I'm in that suit I'm cooking. I've got this yak-hair beard and sometimes you want to rip it off.

"But once I'm in the costume I forget about it. I've got fans on the sleigh to cool me down."

But he said: "It's just overwhelming the amount of people who want to see me. It's gone through the roof."

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