HO, ho, hooray - Santa Claus is coming to town again!

Father Christmas will get a new grotto in St Sampson's Square, York, later this month.

Children will be able to stroll through animated scenes featuring huskies, polar bears, Santa's workshop and his reindeer, before entering his special room for a chat and a gift.

A dream family trip to Lapland is also up for grabs.

York used to have one of the best grottoes in the north at the Victoria House department store, until the store closed in 1997.

The Evening Press launched a Save Our Santa campaign, resulting in a grotto being built in the garden outside York Theatre Royal, which was visited by 2,400 children.

But for the last couple of years, parents have complained there has not been a decent grotto to take their children to in York.

The new "log cabin" grotto, which is being brought to York by a Wigan-based firm Santagrotto.com, is an initiative of York's acting city centre manager John Wood. He said people had complained about the lack of a good grotto and so the city centre management had tracked down a commercial firm which was prepared to provide one.

He said the grotto would complement the traditional children's fairground in Parliament Street.

* Children will be able to give their Christmas requests to the white-bearded one from Monday, November 26 until Christmas Eve. The grotto will be open daily from 10am to 6pm, and until 9pm on Thursdays, and from 10am to 5pm on Sundays.

Updated: 10:31 Friday, November 02, 2001