Father Christmas sacked from garden centre grotto for telling children he wasn't real and all about US school massacre

Father Christmas also allegedly told children about US school massacre

Three children from Abingdon, Oxon, were reduced to tears

Entertainer in a pub then told them Santa doesn't read their letters

A Santa Claus has been sacked from a garden centre grotto after he allegedly told children, 'I'm not real, it's your mum and dad'.



The Father Christmas also told the three siblings about the US school massacre - before they burst into tears.

Their mother, Wendy Kennett, said what was supposed to be a fun festive day out turned into the 'worst day of her life' as her children lost their faith in Santa.

Bad Santa: Santa, pictured, told 10-year-old Ryan that Father Christmas was not real. Ryan is pictured with his sisters Amy, 7, centre, and Katie, 6, right, who were there at the time

Mrs Kennett , 33, and her husband Steven took their children Ryan, 10, Amy, seven, and Katie, six, to visit Santa on Saturday at Notcutts garden centre in Nuneham Courtenay, near Abingdon, Oxon.



The excited youngsters sat on Santa's knee and promised him they had been good boys and girls this year.



But during their conversation the Santa started telling the schoolchildren about the US school massacre in which a gunman shot dead 20 innocent children and six adults who tried to stop him in a school in Newtown, Connecticut.

He said: 'Well there are bad people in the world and bad things happen, like what happened to those children in America.'

Mrs Kennett said he had just started telling the children more about what happened in the US, and assuming he was talking about the Sandy Hook school shooting, Mr Kennett interrupted.

She said the Santa then asked the two girls to leave so he could 'have a word with their brother'.

After whispering something to Ryan, which his parents could not hear, the 10-year-old ran out crying before telling her: 'Santa told me he is not real, it's just you and dad.'

The two girls were stood next to their parents listening at the time.



Mrs Kennett, who paid £5.99 per child, said: 'I was totally furious. I now had three children in tears.'

A spokesman for the garden centre said the Santa was under the impression the boy was playing along for his siblings and wanted to thank him.



Notcutts spokesman Jim Hawker said: 'We have accepted the customers’ version of events and have dismissed the Santa, apologised and refunded the family.

Upset: Mother Wendy Kennett with her children Katie, 6, left, and Amy, 7, right, who went to visit Santa to be told he was not real

'Clearly the family were upset and the Santa who we have had for over 10 years and never had a complaint has been dismissed and a new Santa has replaced him.

' Notcutts certainly feel this was an error of judgment on behalf of the individual.'

He added the firm had also bought them tickets to Winter Wonderland in London.



Mrs Kennett said she went to the manager to ask that the Santa be sacked on the spot, but he was kept on for the rest of the day.



Mr Hawker added: 'There was a massive queue of children waiting to see Santa and we did not want to disappoint them.'

To make matters worse, after hours of trying to restore their children's faith in Santa, Mr and Mrs Kennett took them to a restaurant in Kennington, Oxfordshire for a meal.

But Mrs Kennett said a children’s entertainer at the Tandem Hungry Horse restaurant told the children Santa did not waste his time reading their letters.

Notcutts Garden Centre in Nuneham Courtenay where the Santa worked before he was sacked for telling a child he wasn't real

She said when the children told the balloon artist they had written to Santa, he said: 'That was a waste of time.

'Santa is my best friend, we went skiing last weekend and he told me that he doesn’t bother reading letters because he has got better things to do.'

By this point, Mrs Kennett said the children were so shaken up they did not feel like eating and the family left the restaurant and went back home to Abingdon.

A spokesman for the Hungry Horse said: 'Hungry Horse is saddened and disappointed to hear our young diners had been upset by a hired entertainer, especially so close to Christmas.'

The family were offered a complimentary meal.



Mrs Kennett said the family were today trying to reignite the spark back into Christmas and had travelled to Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland for the day.

Mrs Kennett said: 'The girls are really emotional - they've been all up and down since it happened. We're trying to get them excited about Christmas again.

