Nearly 200 Santas hot footed it around Llandissilio yesterday (Sunday) in the village's third annual Santa run or Ras Sion Corn.

The run was held to raise money for three worthwhile causes: Ty Hafan Children's Hospice in Wales, Neyland's Hope Center and the Llandisilio hall redevelopment fund.

Resplendent in red Santa suits, and with a few doggy Rudolphs in tow, the 198 runners successfully completed the 5km course around the outskirts of the village starting and finishing at the school.

"It's a lovely scenic run," said race organiser Rob Phillips. " The course meets the requirements of all runners, you can walk or even crawl around it and there are two or three pubs on the way if you need some refreshments."

The main race was preceded by children's races, accompanied by Milford Haven Brass Band who got the crowd in the mood with their repetoire of Christmas music.

Winning Santa was Alex Matchett, who completed the course in an impressive 17 minutes 43 seconds. He was closely followed by Marc Beazley and Megan Withers who both made the run in just over 18 minutes.

"I'm pleased," said Alex. "I didn't expect to win so I'm very pleased. My running philosophy was "get to the end and it will all be over"".

The race has raised a total of £15,000 for charity in the last two years and organisers hope that yesterday's run will have raised at least £2000. They are asking for all Santa to return their sponsorship money as soon as possible.

Phil Thomas from Ty Hafan described the mood at the event as "out of this world".

"It feels like Christmas," he said. "There's just a terrific Christmas goodwill atmosphere."

Log on later for a video of the race.