VENTURE scouts took to the streets with Santa this Christmas to give out 300 bags of sweets to children in Loudwater.

Members of the Magpie Venture Scouts, based at St Peter's Parish Hall, Station Road, Loudwater, brought children to their doors and windows with the help of a huge sound system.

And then, dressed as Christmas parcels, the scouts gave away thousands of sweets.

Mick Newman, venture scout leader, said: "This is an annual event and we raise funds throughout the year. But rather than to keep asking people for money we just like to give something back. We came up with this idea of giving out bags of sweets because we wanted to do something for the young at Christmas. It went down very, very well - we had to stop people from giving us money!"