A town has been gifted with a new float thanks to a group of local ‘elves’.

Volunteers from the Buckley Scout, Cubs and Beavers groups worked “day and night” to construct a new float to replace the one Buckley Round Table group began parading more than 30 years ago.

Phil Harrison Royle, project organiser and Explorer group leader, from Penyffordd, said he discovered the discarded original float “behind the old baths” in Buckley two years ago.

He said: “It wasn’t getting used when we found it, and the previous owner, Andy Williams, basically told us that if we could move it, we could keep it.

“Two years ago we started doing the Santa float around Buckley, and it was that popular last year, we did two weeks.

“But the float was 30 years old and falling apart – so we decided to build a new one.”

With the support of other community members,  a “fantastic team” of amateur builders, artists, and local business have worked their magic to produce a shiny new float fit for parading around Buckley.

Mr Harrison Royle said: “For six weeks, every night from 7pm to 1am we’ve been working on it.

“It cost £1,000 to build but we wanted it to go ahead because people loved it so much.

“I’m glad we decided to build a new one and a lot of companies have helped out.”

The opening of the community project saw the new float’s builders hand it over officially to the Scout group.

Mr Harrison Royle said: “We’ve had lots of donations as building it has cost lots of money. We think it would be nice if we went out over two weeks to thank all the people who helped us.

“The response we’ve had has been incredible.”

Gratitude has been expressed for the help given by: Stuart Allen, owner of Chrysalis Pets, Buckley; Ian Hopwood, of T.I. Hopwood Contractors; Phil Gallop, from Buckley Beavers; Bernard Gravil from Penyffordd and leader of Flint Scouts; Tim Payton Jones, from Shotton and Cub leader at Bistre; Tamsin Harrison Royle, from Penyfordd and manager of Buckley Scouts.

The team went about building the body, while Buckley artist Honor Pedican painted “all the delicate and creative bits including the eyes for the reindeers”.

On Saturday volunteers and Beavers took the float around nursing homes in Buckley, which Mr Harrison Royle said was not in a fundraising attempt, but “to go and be part of the community and put a smile on the residents’ faces”.

He added: “The second you see kids faces, its just brilliant to see. We hand out sweets for the kids and although we try and cover the whole of Buckley, we don’t drive round the whole town in one go like other floats.

“We stop as much as we can and try and get Santa to get off and speak to the children.

“A couple of years ago, Santa actually got off and knocked on the door of a very poorly little boy and it made his Christmas.”

He continued: “Obviously we can’t do that for every child but we try and do what we can.

“It has been that good, last year people were asking us when we will be coming down their road so they can pop out.

“A woman last year told us to wait, and then she brought out hot chocolate for us all.

“It’s the little things like that which makes it special.”

Mr Harrison Royle also hopes the float will help raise money to fund a new minibus for Buckley Scouts, Cubs and Beavers.

He said: “It might make us £2,000 on donations through two weeks of going around on the float, that’s what I’m hoping for anyway. We have to raise our own funds as volunteer clubs and we try and raise as much money as possible to give back to the kids.

“We also want to do this for Buckley to put it back on the map and after the feedback we had last year and the first year we wanted to do it again.

“It is a proud thing for us all to have done.”