Santa attacked by livid parents

Rex Features

A Santa and his elves have been attacked at a Christmas theme park by angry parents, according to The Sun.

Fights at Dorset's Lapland New Forest attraction were reportedly caused by customer anger at the long queue times and high entry prices.

Adrian Wood, a former employee of the park, said: "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 - so he marched up and punched Santa on the chin."

In separate incidents, three elves and three security guards were also attacked.

Managing director Sue Holzher said: "We can't expect our staff to take constant abuse and do not want to put their safety at risk."

The park has been slammed for charging £30 for what customers describe as a "glorified car-boot sale".

Claire Harnett, who attended with her young daughter Tierney, said that she was shocked to see a Santa removing his beard and smoking a cigarette.

The local council's trading standards team has fielded over 1,300 complaints about the park.