EIGHT stag party friends whisked Ledbury bridegroom-to-be Philip Burton off to Samnaun, Switzerland, to compete in the Santa World Championships.

Together with Chris Harris, a colleague at Hereford Nature Trust, Mr Burton pitted his wits against 170 other competitors climbing chimneys and riding sleighs.

"I had no idea what had been planned" said Mr Burton, aged 37, of Homend Crescent.

"My fiance Leonie packed my bag. I was told to take my passport and at the airport I had to put on a Santa hat."

At Samnaun, Mr Burton and Mr Harris were part of a British team calling themselves The Fabulous Reindeer Beaters, competing for a cash prize of 3,000 euros (around £2,000).

They donned red clothes and white beards and got down to the serious business of playing Santa, which included a spot of cabaret, delivering presents, throwing snowballs and the more genteel gingerbread man icing competition.

"It was a completely surreal day, but really good fun - all the other teams were really friendly and we all had a good laugh together," said Mr Burton, who was married on Saturday, December 11.

"We came 15th in the finals, but next year we'll be in training to finish the job, and hopefully raise some money for charity at the same time."