But there were no mince pies waiting for St Nicholas on Thursday last week, just the crack of an air-rifle bullet and a near-fatal fall.
Alistair Sugden had been persuaded by a local radio station to get up on his roof and put on a show for the children.
Mr Sugden has been speaking of the terrifying moment he heard a pellet bounce off the roof of his house as he entertained delighted children below.
Moments later a second bullet hit him in the leg and he began to fall towards the edge – as his seven-year-old daughter looked on from below.
