FATHER Christmas has been banished from having a grotto at Blackburn shopping centre after bosses said there was not enough room.

But they were today urged to reconsider the decision by local council leader Sir Bill Taylor, traders, parents and children.

Shoppers said youngsters would be heartbroken by the move and Blackburn with Darwen Council has stepped in to provide a grotto in its market hall to meet demand.

Shopping centre manger Arnold Wilcox-Wood said: "There is not enough space in Victoria Court. We can either have a tree with no grotto, or a grotto with no tree. Last year we had a grotto and this year we've decided to have a tree."

The decision means the shopping centre will not have its own Santa, although individual shops may decide to fill the void.

A spokesman for Reit Asset Management, the company which bought the centre for £120million earlier this year, said the decision was the responsibility of its staff in Blackburn.

Sir Bill Taylor said: "I think it will be sorely missed. It will take away a big part of our Christmas experience if we can't go and see our favourite man from the North Pole.

"The shopping centre should do something about it as a matter of priority. There is no Christmas without Santa Claus."

Victoria Savage, a 22-year-old mum from Chapple Street, Rishton said her two-year-old daughter, Courtney Savage-Dugdale, had been looking forward to meeting Santa yesterday.

She added: "I didn't know they weren't having one until I got here. Children will miss him a lot. The last time I brought Courtney she loved it. All kids will miss the grotto."

Her friend Shane Pemberton, also from Rishton, said: "Kids expect Santa to be in the shopping centre. If they can get a great big tree in, they can get Father Christmas in too."

One local shop worker, who did not want to be named, said: "We have one every year, so why not this year? I can't see the problems. They could have found space."

The council's Liberal Democrat group leader Paul Browne said: "It really got my blood boiling. The grotto is the centre piece of the shopping centre's Christmas experience. They should reconsider because this is crazy, absolutely crazy."

In Accrington the Arndale Centre will have a grotto and there will also be one in Preston's main shopping centre. Children in Bolton can choose from three grottos in the town centre.

Ronald Goldstone, president of the Blackburn and District Chamber of Trade said: "Instead of shopping in the centre, people should go to the market. It's not just about money, Father Christmas is part of the season and everyone expects him to be in the shopping centre.

"It's a big disappointment. We always have a grotto there, they should think about this again."

Santa will meet children in the market hall, off Penny Street, every Saturday from December 6 and on December 21, 22 and 23 from 10am to 12pm and 1pm to 4pm.