Move over children - it's time for Granny and Granddad to sit on Santa's knee.

Garden King Garden Centre in Park Road, Newhall, is holding a "Granny Grotto" so older people can enjoy meeting the big man himself in support of the Alzheimer's Society.

Garden King's latest grotto idea is exclusively for grandparents and will support the charity by donating £1 from every ticket sold to the charity.

Each ticket includes entry to see Santa, who will treat visitors to a tasty bag of mints or toffees. A cheeky elf will take a picture and print a 6x8" photograph to capture the memory of the visit. It also includes a free cup of tea or coffee, so grandparents are urged to relax, bring their knitting if they want or have a chit chat with the other visitors and Santa's elves.

Darren Sanders, the garden centre manager, said: "For the past few years Santa Claus has been in residence at our grotto and has welcomed hundreds of guests - both two and four-legged, yes a grotto for cats and dogs. This year we thought we'd open another grotto for our local community, a chance for our young at heart visitors to have their time with Santa.

"We're proud to be supporting the Alzheimer's Society and proud to be supporting our local community. Sadly more than 200,000 people will develop dementia this year. There is no cure and every donation helps towards vital research into treatments."

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Garden King bosses said nobody should be lonely at any time of the year, especially at Christmas.

Mr Sanders said: "Nobody should be alone at Christmastime, so we're opening our grotto doors and welcoming our elderly visitors for a cuppa and a chit chat. Santa is excited to meet everyone in the "Granny Grotto" and we hope it'll be as popular as our main grotto experience and Pet Grotto."

Garden King's "Granny Grotto" is set to open for one day only on Tuesday, December 12. Tuesday is also Over 60s Privilege Day where visitors can take advantage of a 10 per cent discount across the garden centre.

Anybody interested in meeting Santa can book in-store, by phone on 01283 550516 or online at www.gardenkinggrotto.co.uk. Tickets are priced at £10 or £15 for couples sharing a photo.