Newton Stewart and District Round Table (www.nsroundtable.org.uk) is a voluntary organisation. Every December they take Santa and his sleigh to each and every town and village throughout Newton Stewart and the Machars. It has been running for 33 years and during that time we have raised around £100,000. All of the money Round Table raises stays in the local community and is distributed to local charities, groups and good causes. Christmas wouldn’t be the same without the Santa sleigh.

Last Christmas disaster struck and the Santa sleigh was stopped in its tracks. The trailer, upon which the sleigh sits, suffered a broken axle. Unfortunately, the damage was terminal. We managed to carry on last year by borrowing a trailer. However, to add insult to injury, the Sleigh itself was badly damaged when it was lifted off of the old trailer.

In August the Round Table held its second annual 10k run and Santa dash. The event was very successful and the modest profit we made, together with a donation from Garrocher Christmas Tree Farm, has enabled us to purchase a brand new trailer. However, the trailer needs a sleigh.

We’ve been very fortunate that local tradesmen have offered to give their time for free to build and paint a new sleigh. We just need to add electrics, lighting, speakers and a reindeer. We also need to replace our generator which is very old and very, very noisy.

We would like to raise between £600 and £1200 to pay for the new sleigh. The more money we raise, the better the sleigh will be. Any money we raise over and above this amount will be donated to our community account and distributed to local charities and good causes.

Please help us get the word out and share this with your family, friends and colleagues.

There would be no Christmas without Santa and we are really excited about getting Santa and his sleigh back out on the streets again this year. Please help us continue this great tradition.