A pre-school’s Christmas celebration has raised more than £350 for the facility and charity.

The team at Wren’s Nursery at Hooke Court, near Beaminster, held its annual fundraising ‘Elfstravaganza’ earlier this month.

This is the fourth year the event has been running and Amy Evans, nursery manager, said that it has been growing year on year, with all tickets selling out well in advance.

This year, the children were sent on a mission to find the mischievous elves who had mistakenly taken Father Christmas’ magical snowflakes, which were essential for helping him take flight on Christmas eve. The children followed their maps around the grounds to find elves ice skating, sledging and flying on zip wires. During their search, the children identified a secret code to give to Father Christmas to help him retrieve his magic snow.

At the end of the search, the children discovered Father Christmas in his grotto to receive a gift for helping save Christmas.

The profits raised from the Elfstravaganza - which was £368 - were divided between the nursery and Julia’s House children’s hospice.

Amy Evans said: “This is my favourite event of the year; it has quickly become an event that marks the start of Christmas and has been described as ‘magical’ by many of the parents that have accompanied their children this year.”