FORTY drunken Santas rampaged through Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, at the weekend, stealing from stores and assaulting security guards in a protest against the commercialisation of Christmas.
Police said some of the Santas threw beer bottles, one tried to climb the mooring rope of a cruise ship and a security guard was punched. „They came in, said: ‚Merry Christmas‘ and helped themselves,“ said one shop worker.
Police said identification was a problem as they tried to sort out which of the 40 men and women did what.
„With a number of people dressed in the same outfit, it was difficult for witnesses to confirm the identity of who was doing what,“ said an officer.