GIVE US back our Santa! That's the message from a pub landlord whose Alpine Bar centrepiece was swiped from his beer garden.

Phil Hoyle, who runs the award-winning London Tavern in Poulner, Ringwood, bought the jolly figure for the Alpine Bar that he’s building in the beer garden for the Christmas period.

However, on Thursday the Father Christmas disappeared.

Phil said: “I bought the Santa for our Alpine bar that we thought would be something a bit different for our regulars and put him in the window during a busy night and he vanished.

“Our regulars are a great bunch, but someone must have thought it amusing to take him, so we're asking whoever did it to show a bit of Christmas spirit and return Santa to us.

“Running a pub is hard enough these days without people pinching the decorations but we are still going ahead with the Alpine bar which opens on Friday,” he said.

The missing Santa is wearing a Christmas jumper and is carrying presents and a pair of skis.