More than 620 children and their families visited Santa's grotto at Sturmer Nurseries Garden Centre this weekend, helping raise over £3,000 for charity via the Haverhill Lions Club.

Haverhill Lions president David Goodwin said: "Thank you to all the boys and girls who came to see Santa. You have all got Official Nice List certificates, so Santa should be bringing lots of presents to you at Christmas.

"The children also received a bag of Christmas Eve essentials, so don’t forget to leave out the reindeer food and magic key for Santa!"

"This year Haverhill Lions have already made donations to Haverhill Ultrasound Scanner Project, Haverhill food bank (Reach), Haverhill Salvation Army, St Nicholas Hospice Care and Macmillan Cancer Support and also assisted Marie Curie and Diabetes UK with their collections in Haverhill. The money raised at the grotto will make a real difference locally."

Sturmer Nurseries managing director Robert Mason added: "The Lions did a fantastic job with the grotto, creating a really magical experience for the children. It was great to see so many smiling faces."

Haverhill Lions also took Santa and his sleigh to Tesco where they raised £440.75 by bucket donations.