Hats the way to do it !

A shopping mall Santa Claus has been forced to wear a hard hat after being pelted with mince pies.

Yobs launched the hail of pastry missiles from an upper level of the Paisley Centre in Renfrewshire as he was handing out treats to customers.

Concerned centre bosses have now issued the Santa with a builder’s-style hard hat in case there are any further attacks.

Centre manager Andrew MacKinnon said shoppers were shocked after the incident on Saturday.

He said: “We are a multi-level centre, and have taken this somewhat drastic action to protect Santa from possible injury.

“Such an incident does give rise to health and safety concerns, and we take the safety of our staff very seriously.”

Mr MacKinnon said the hard hat has been decorated with red reindeer antlers to “Christmas it up a bit”.

There was no police involvement after the attack, he added.