Rudolph the red-hot reindeer

Like all small children, the pupils of St Piran's School can hardly wait for Christmas and have been counting down the days to Santa's arrival.

But when they gathered for their carol service in a local church, they were greeted by a vicar who had clearly lost sight of the magic of Christmas.

In an outbreak of humbug he was soon to regret, the Rev Lee Rayfield told his congregation - which included Ulrika Jonsson and her eight-year- old son Cameron - that Santa Claus was dead and that his present-delivering exploits were a scientific impossibility.

He warned that Rudolph and the other reindeer would in fact burst into flames if they had to travel at the speeds necessary to get round the globe in a single night.

Not surprisingly, the scientific approach to the season left many pupils who attend the primary school in Maidenhead, Berkshire, extremely upset.

It took some time for their parents to persuade them that Mr Rayfield had, of course, got his facts wrong.

At her home in nearby Cookham Dean, Miss Jonsson said she had been horrified by the comments. 'It was every parent's worst nightmare,' she said. 'I have told Cameron that just because the vicar doesn't believe in Father Christmas, it does not mean he can't.

'I still completely believe in Father Christmas.

'Last year Cameron saw reindeer tracks in the drive so he knows he exists but last night many parents had to talk to their children about it.

'It was uncharitable, unchristian and totally pious of the reverend to do this.

'The true spirit of Christmas is all about children. Apart from Harry Potter, Santa is a magic they can believe and be a part of.'

Sue Smee, who was at the service with her sons aged five and nine, said: 'Some of the children were old enough to understand what was being said and were leaving the church at the end upset and shocked.

'The vicar made a big miscalculation. When he said Santa Claus was dead I put my hands over my youngest son's ears.

'I'm still not sure whether he absorbed it or not. I think it was heartless.'

Another parent who attended the carol service, mother-of-four Sarah McCreery said: 'It would not have taken a genius to look out at the congregation and realise how young the children were. What he said was totally inappropriate.'

Mr Rayfield, a 47-year-old father of three, was standing in during the Monday night service at the Anglican St Mary's Church as it is without a vicar. His parish is the nearby St Peter's.

He admitted yesterday that he had made a big mistake in signing Santa's death warrant and vaporising his reindeer.

He said the story had been intended as a bit of fun for older children. 'I made a serious misjudgmentof the ages of the children-he said. 'I did not realise how young some of them were and I am sitting here now wondering how I managed not to realise.

'Even when I was there, I did not twig. I am mortified and appreciate I have put some parents in a difficult position. I love Christmas.'

Mr Rayfield is writing to the school to apologise for his mistake.

St Piran's headmaster Jonathan Carroll said the school would distribute Mr Rayfield's letter to parents.

'In the context of such a splendid carol service, it was a shame that he misjudged his words,' said Mr Carroll.

The vicar's comments were based on a joke story that circulated on the Internet earlier this year about how science would have trouble accounting for the magic of Father Christmas.

It claimed that Santa would have to deliver 378million presents to 91.8million homes and would have 31 hours to do it.

He and the reindeer would have to travel at 3,000 times the speed of sound.

The report claimed that the reindeer would be vaporised within 4.26 thousandths of a second and Santa would be killed by 4,315,000 pounds worth of force.