A CHRISTMAS-LOVING dad will be bringing an amazing homemade Santa sleigh to Basingstoke this year to spread some Christmas cheer.

Kye Hill, 22, from Grimsby, has taken over the Santa Sleigh from his dad Steve Hill and his dad’s friend Roy Long.

The pair toured all over North East Lincolnshire on the homemade sleigh for 15 years but decided to put their one-of-a-kind, homemade sleigh up for sale in January 2019.

It gauged a lot of interest from people but the Hill family wanted to keep the sleigh going so children in the region could enjoy it.

SEE ALSO: Test Valley Borough Council fine Basingstoke man hundreds for dropping a cigarette butt in Andover carpark

Steve, originally from Basingstoke, also suffered a stroke in 2018 but since then Kye has been determined to bring the iconic sleigh back to Basingstoke.

He said: "This is all I’ve known since I was five or six-years-old. It is a huge part of Christmas for me.

"When my dad had the stroke we thought we were going to have to stop but I said 'no we can't do that' and decided to bring it back to Basingstoke.

"It is just a great feeling to see all the childrens faces smiling and waving. I am a father myself now so while you do lose out on time with them it is worth it to see all the smiling faces."

Kye said they have the "best Santa sleigh in the country".

Rudolph also nods his head up and down and side to side plus there is also a sound system and snow machines on either side ready to cover everyone in snow.

Santa's Sleigh will only stop at the allocated stopping point for each area, where residents can sit on the sleigh with Santa, have a picture and receive a present (optional) from Santa for £3 or purchase flashing lights from the Elves.

They will tour the streets of South Ham, Beggarwood and Oakridge 4pm-7pm and Popley 12pm-3pm where the Elves will hand out lollies with the sleigh only stopping at allocated points.

See the full list of timings and locations below.

  • South Ham - December 16 4pm-8pm (stopping point - Burnaby Close Shops 7pm)
  • Beggarwood -December 17 4pm-8pm (stopping point - Co-Op Beggarwood Lane 7pm)
  • Popley - December 18 12pm-4pm (stopping point - One Stop Shop Shakespeare Road 3pm)
  • Oakridge - December 18 4pm-8pm (stopping point - Oakridge Hall 4 All 7pm)

READ MORE: Pensioner shares frustration at council's failure after her beloved cat was rushed to vets

Kye added: "It is impossible to stop for everyone so we came up with the idea to tour slowly so anyone can come and of their houses and wave and then we have a dedicated stop to make sure we don't miss anyone."

There will also be a live Santa tracker which can be found at www.santasleightour.co.uk. More information can also be found by visiting the Santa Sleigh Basingstoke Facebook page.