CHILDREN looking forward to receiving gifts from Santa Claus yesterday were disappointed after the narrowboat he was due to arrive on was vandalised.

Santa had to postpone his visit to Nelson but was due to make a return to the town.

Organisers of the event, Pendle Council and British Waterways, decided to cancel the visit because of the condition of the boat.

Vandals had slashed the tarpaulin before breaking into the boat and scattering property inside.

Security officers at Morrison's supermarket, Nelson, behind the canal where the boat was moored, have vowed to keep an eye on the boat to safeguard future visits.

Santa was due to arrive into town at 11am today and is set to return again on Friday from 11am to 1pm.

Jayne Kay, economic and social development officer at British Waterways, who helped organise the event, said: "We thought it would be a novel way of bringing Santa to meet the local children.

"We couldn't believe it when we saw the mess that had been caused yesterday morning which is why we decided to cancel yesterday's visit as it wasn't an appropriate environment for children.

"There were a lot of disappointed children yesterday

"But we are hoping that they will come back,

now that things are back to normal."