If anyone thought that Santa would be taking a rest before his marathon trip delivering presents on Christmas Eve, they’d be proved wrong.

Instead of resting, Santa found himself at Brighton on Tuesday 12 December helping the Kent and East Sussex Railway pick up an Event of the Year award.

The company won the Event of the Year accolade in the Beautiful South Awards for Excellence for their popular annual Santa Specials.

Santa has not only been busying readying himself for Christmas but he has also been making appearances on the Santa Specials as well as joining the railway’s General Manager Robin Coombes to accept the prestigious Bronze trophy at the ceremony.

The Santa Specials are part of a decades-old tradition in Kent and have been enjoyed by generations of families from around the country.

More than 14,000 passengers make the magical trip every December. In order to celebrate the award, the railway has released a limited number of additional seats on its remaining Santa Specials which run for the next two weekends up to and including Christmas Eve.

Robin Coombes, the railway’s General Manager, said:  “It was a great honour on behalf of the whole K&ESR family to collect, with Santa, an award for our Santa Specials. Our Santa Specials have been developed over many years to provide a truly family-orientated magical experience. They are complex and intense to operate but this award recognises just how good they are.”

“I want to acknowledge the exceptional dedication of those who go above and beyond, particular the long hours worked by many, often with modesty, simply stating, ‘It’s what we do!’ I extend my sincere gratitude to each and every volunteer for their extra-ordinary effort and unwavering dedication: our Santa Specials simply would not work without them.”