London - In what managers described on Thursday as a "sad sign of the times", a British shopping centre has installed a spy camera in its Christmas grotto to protect Father Christmas from possible child abuse allegations.
Bosses at the Saint Elli Centre, in Llanelli, south Wales, are also discouraging children from the age-old practice of sitting on Santa's knees as they reel off their list of Christmas present requests.
For many decades, excited young children in Britain have enjoyed annual Christmas visits to a Santa Claus inside a festively-decorated grotto at department stores and shopping centres.
But mindful of parents' fears amid increasingly prevalent newspaper reports of predatory paedophiles, the Saint Elli complex considered not having a grotto at all this year, manager Gilmour Jones said.
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Instead, an Internet-linked webcam was installed to keep an eye on Santa, while decorations have been cleared from the grotto's windows to allow parents to see their child at all times.
"It was either this or not have a Santa's Grotto at all I am afraid. It is a sad sign of the times," Jones said.
"Setting up the webcam protects both Santa and the children from allegations of abuse."
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