In a Yuletide tale as sickeningly sweet as the richest Christmas pudding, a young girl shopped herself to the police after committing an “offence” she feared would upset Santa.

Police said seven-year-old Isabelle LaPeruta from New Jersey, dialed 911 to report that she had touched her “Elf on Shelf” and believed - based on the 2004 story in which the character appears - that the magic of Christmas would disappear as a result of her action.

Isabelle LaPeruta feared she would destroy the magic of Christmas

A recording of the 911 as reported by NBC call revealed the girl’s concerns.

“Hello?” said the 911 operator.

“It's Isabella," the girl said.

"Hi. Hi, Isabella. Why are you calling 911?" the operator asked.

It appears that the youngster then suddenly panicked.

“Don't come to my house,” she shouted. “Don’t!”

Police said they were obliged to investigate any emergency call from a child. When an officer went to the house they found the girl in tears.

The officer radioed back to headquarters: “Isabella apologised. She touched the Elf on a Shelf. She won’t call 911 again.”

Her mother, Lynanne, says she awoke from a nap to find her daughter trying to get the officer out of the house. She said the girl panicked when the elf fell on the floor when she threw a ball.