Father Christmas impersonator creates petition to get his job back after he is let go from the temporary festive role.
According to a report in the Ayrshire post, actor Andrew Bryden is demanding his seasonal role back and has launched an internet petition in an attempt to be reinstated as Father Christmas at the Dobbies centre.

The story suggests the reason Dobbies let Mr Brydon go was because he was "over-stepping his role by trying to influence the way Christmas events are run".

As a result, Tesco-owned Dobbies made the decision to bring in a new Father Christmas this year, leaving a disgruntled Mr Bryden; a former wrestler, who says he been playing Santa for 25 years, desperate to drum up public support to win the role back.

However, Dobbies insists it was only ever a temporary role and that the garden centre chain is required to choose the candidate it feels has the best qualities for the job.

Ayr Dobbies Garden Centre general manager John Paterson said: "As a responsible employer, our recruitment process is an open and fair procedure where we advertise and then consider all appropriate applicants for the role. We've hired the most suitable candidate for our Ayr grotto this year who we believe will give all our children and families visiting Santa the best and most magical Christmas experience."

Meanwhile, the centre's Christmas festivities remain unaffected by the somewhat strange row, with a newly appointed Santa set to be piped into his grotto by the Ayr Pipe Band on Sunday, November 20 at 11am.