A MERRY herd of helpers have saved Abingdon's Christmas tradition by taking the reigns from a retiring Rudolph.

Abingdon's decades-old sleigh tour will jingle through the streets as usual this December thanks to volunteers who responded to a desperate social media plea just two weeks ago.

Santa's loyal helper John Prior announced in January that he was hanging up his hooves after 20 years towing the sleigh, leaving organisers Abingdon Lions Club in search of a new driver.

Club members officer Lesley Donovan said: "We have been nibbling away at the whole situation for months. It was only out of desperation that we put something on our Facebook page.

"We absolutely were in very uncertain times – a few people were quite dismayed that we might not be able to do it. We pulled out all the stops and thought 'we can't possibly not do it'. The children expect us."

Every December the red tinsel-trimmed sleigh is towed on the back of a car and driven to housing estates around Abingdon over ten days, stopping as children run to meet Santa.

The sleigh is decked with collection boxes to raise money for local charities, which raised £3,250 during last year's tour.

Shippon resident and Abingdon Lions treasurer Mr Prior, 77, said he quit the role due to old age and because modern housing estates are hard to manoeuvre in.

He added: "Enough was enough – it was becoming too much of a physical strain and too much of a worry. The whole thing was dominating my life in the first two weeks of December.

"It's taken a long time for anybody to come forward. I didn't think it would happen."

After posting for help on Facebook the club managed to gather enough volunteers to cover the 10 days between them, which will see the sleigh driven around the town between December 5-16 excluding the weekend.

Helpers stepped forward from Oxfordshire Lowland Search and Rescue, Abingdon Sea Cadets, a former Lions club member, Alzheimer's Society, Abingdon and Radley Guides, Thomas Reade Primary School and OASIS autism group.

South Abingdon resident Mrs Donovan, who works at Abingdon and Witney college, added: "We are eternally grateful to them - it just goes to show the power of social media."

Excitable children can expect to spot Santa and his wooden sleigh being towed by vehicles including a caravan and a Land Rover.

Abingdon Lions' fundraising officer Richard Terry dusted off the sleigh yesterday to string it with lights and give it a lick of paint.

It will debut on November 26 at the Christmas Extravaganza, starring former members of S Club 7.