Santa model equipped with tracking device after theft

A life-size model of Santa Claus has been fitted with a location tracker after it was stolen earlier this month.

Paul de Freyne has had a Father Christmas display outside his home in Little Milton, Oxfordshire every December for “the last four or five years”.

This year’s creation was taken down on December 5, and has since been replaced by a trackable copy.

Mr De Frayn said the support he had received since the theft had been a “huge surprise”.

Explaining why he creates the Santa model every year, he said: “All the kids go through our house to school, so we thought it would be a good opportunity to do something fun as they go to school before Christmas.”

He said he had “no idea” who stole this year’s creation.

Local resident Liz Jones, who regularly walks her dog with Santa, said the theft was “shameful”.

“With all the rain, wind and inclement weather these days, it’s hard to find something to bring a smile to children’s faces,” he said.

Over the years, Mr. De Frayn has posed his Santa figure in various poses, including climbing a ladder, waving and drinking from a bottle of wine.

He said the replacement was made with the help of a “local dealer of (plumber) pipes”, from which the model is primarily composed.

He added, “The new one has a tracker, so if they try it again it will be tracked wherever it is thrown or whose house it goes to.”