A FAMILY are distraught after a giant charity Santa statue was stolen from outside their farm.

They say thieves burnt through a rope which was attaching the six-foot tall Santa to a pole at Mill Brook Farm in Mill Lane, Marston, at around 5pm on Monday.

David Stubbings, 53, and daughter Charlene, 31, had been selling Christmas trees at their farm when the statue was taken.

Charlene said: “I was so shocked it took me a couple of seconds to realise what had happened.

“My nine-year-old daughter, Maryellen, has been left broken-hearted.

“She used to come home from school and it was really nice for her to see as she was getting excited for Christmas.

“I spent ages decorating him last week – it think it is really low to be honest.

“You can’t exactly miss it, who knows what they would have done with it.”

The Father Christmas has gold trousers, a gold jacket with black boots and a hat.

It was also carrying a Marie Curie Cancer Care charity box with donations from people who had taken their photos with the statue.

Mr Stubbings said he didn’t know how much money was stolen because they had not opened the box, but people were putting £10 notes in.

He said: “That’s the lowest of it all – it is not about the value of it. There really are some low-lifes out there. It was sentimental.

“My granddaughter was very upset.”

He said he bought the statue for about £300 three years ago and it is put up outside the farm every year, but this is the first time they collected money for charity.

The family chose Marie Curie because it is supporting a relative diagnosed with the disease.

The family had been taking the Santa into their house overnight to keep it safe.

Mr Stubbings added: “I saw a white van go down the lane and said to my wife it looked funny because it didn’t have any headlights on even though it was dark.”

Thames Valley Police spokesman Rhianne Pope said: “No arrests have yet been made.”

Anyone with information can call 101.