The Santa who is helping a poorly Hartlepool boy as he battles with a brain tumour

Peter Richardson, 65, is known to hundreds of people for his role as Father Christmas.

And he is showing no signs of stopping in 2020 as he plans to appear as Santa at Imagination Village in Usworth Road.

He will be there between 10am and 1pm on December 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, and Christmas Eve.

In return for his devotion to Christmas, Peter will be given a donation which he plans to use to help Noah Griffiths.

Noah has a grade 3 glioma which is a type of tumour which can happen in the brain and spinal cord.

It is so close to his brain that it can’t be operated on, and although he is receiving excellent treatment from North East doctors, no-one knows yet whether Noah will go blind.

Noah is now having chemotherapy treatment every Friday for a year. Close friends of the family are fundraising to get Noah and his family to Disneyland in Paris and they are aiming to raise £5,000.

Peter, who is a member of a Hartlepool branch of the Freemasons, is planning to help by donating hundreds of pounds to the cause and he also hopes to deliver presents to the brave little boy in time for Christmas. His efforts have won the support of the Hartlepool Masonic Benevolent Association.

Peter, a carer and a former health and safety adviser, is a dad and a granddad himself and said: “I used to do it at first when the Val Armstrong studio needed someone to appear as Santa,

"My granddaughter danced for Val Armstrong at the time and that was the start of it. I get a lot of satisfaction from helping not just young people but helping others in the community.”

Noah’s mum Abbieleigh Griffiths said Peter’s gesture was ‘lovely’ and added: “A lot of people have helped to make Noah happy.”

You can find out more at the Noah’s Superhero Journey Facebook page. Those who know him have described Noah as a ‘real life super hero’ and his Facebook page already has around 400 members but more will be made welcome.

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