It was very, very cold and little a bit icy on the run

Brian Seymour-Smith, organiser

Annie Lander - the first "Mother" Christmas to cross the finishing line, admitted she had spent much of her race shouting 'Merry Christmas' to the crowd.

The pair were each given �250 to donate to a charity of their choice.

The fun run is expected to raise �50,000 and was organised to support 80 local and national charities, including Newtown's Dial-a-Ride organisation.

Winner Mr Davies, 24, said: "There were loads of people cheering us as we went by and shouting 'Well done Santa'.

"I thought the costume would be quite difficult to run in, but it was quite comfortable.

"The Santas were quite competitive. Everybody wanted to do their best. It was quite strange to see so many of them."

'Great atmosphiere'

Mrs Lander, 38, who finished in 26 minutes, said there had been a great atmosphere during the run.

"By the end of the race I was a bit tired so I couldn't shout so much."

Event spokesman Brian Seymour-Smith said: "It was very, very cold and little a bit icy. There were 520 Santas taking part, but their costumes are still quite shiny and clean as the ground was quite hard.

"It was fantastic. This is the first time anything like this has happened in Europe."

Andrew Messenger, chief executive of West Bromwich Building Society, which sponsored the race, said: "There were so many Santas. It was like a stream of red going down Broad Street in Newtown."

Four society staff members were among those who took part in the event.

"They're not back yet. I think the pubs along the route have been too tempting!" said Mr Messenger.