“FATHER Christmas” arrived early to help a Bournemouth church with its fundraising efforts.

Ian Whiteley is always being called ‘Santa’ while he is out and about and decided to invite people to donate to snip off his white beard at the summer fair at St Katharine’s Church in Southbourne.

The former BBC Radio One announcer helped the fair raise £2,000 in total, with repairs to a stained glass window among the planned work that the money will help to pay for.

“I felt like a different person afterwards,” Ian said.

The fundraising idea came together to help pay for repairs to what is called the “Gabriel window” which depicts the angel Gabriel with a glowing halo at the church, which is in Church Road.

Ian has been on the receiving end of jokes about looking like Santa since he started growing his white beard but he enjoys it and hopes to grow it back and be a professional Father Chris-tmas impersonator for television or film.

He also wants to help out as Father Christmas at events locally.

Ian, who lives in Southbourne, added: “If I had a pound for every time someone called me Father Christmas we would have had the window fixed already.”