Santa faces a difficult journey on Christmas Eve. According to scientific calculations, he has to cover 58 million square miles and make 842 million stops in one night.

At least with the advent of central heating, the risk of him landing on red hot embers when he descends down each chimney has diminished.

But the modern home offers very different dangers, such as the snake skulking in a York chimney. But rest assured, children: it will take more than a six-foot, rat-eating reptile to stop Santa on his rounds.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.