Santa dons hardhat after mince pie attack

LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) Father Christmas was forced to swap his traditional red and white hat for protective headgear after children pelted him with mince pies in Scotland.

Santa was hit on the head by pastries thrown from a balcony as he handed out gold chocolate coins at a shopping center in the town of Paisley, near Glasgow, at the weekend.

"Health and safety is paramount," center manager Andrew MacKinnon said yesterday. "We issued him with a yellow hardhat equipped with a pair of reindeer antlers to make it look more festive." He said a gang of local "neds," or yobs, threw the pies before running off. Last year, the centre's Father Christmas was set upon by youths calling a him a "fraud and a fake." REUTERS DKA PM1125