A Santa and his elves have been assaulted by angry parents at a shoddily-run Christmas theme park after complaints of extortionate entry prices and excessive queue times, according to reports.
Simmering tensions at the much-maligned Lapland New Forest, in west England, descended in physical blows after Santa reportedly began refusing to sit children on his knee and charged parents an extra $20 to have photos taken.
"The final straw for one dad came when after four hours he was told he would have to join another queue for his child to get a present," park worker Adrian Wood said to British tabloid, The Sun.
"So he marched up and punched Santa on the chin."
But the chaos didn't end there: Mr Wood, who worked on the front gate, said he quit his own job after being struck by an enraged punter.
And a further 25 staff were told by their temp agency to walk out after three employees were also punched while posing as Santa's elves.
"We can't expect our staff to take constant abuse and do not want to put their safety at risk," said Richards Events spokeswoman Sue Holzher.
The park was already under fire for charging a $70 entry fee per person and variously lambasted in newspaper reports as a "glorified car boot sale" and "like a warzone".
The Dorset Trading Standards Service has received more than 1000 complaints about the park and plans to give it a thorough inspection.
But a spokesman for Lapland New Forest insisted "95 percent" of customers who visited the park left satisfied.
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