Father Christmas will have to make do without his reindeer at Sunday's Christmas street party because of foot-and-mouth regulations.

Thousands of revellers are expected at the popular charity event in Barnet High Street.

But reindeer Sasha and Twinkle, both two, will be staying at home in Hertfordshire. If they entered the borough, regulations would force them to remain for 21 days despite there being no foot-and-mouth in London or Hertfordshire.

The reindeer, from Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne, have proved one of the highlights in recent years. This week they were happily munching vegetables unaware of the spat surrounding their proposed visit.

Park manager Steve Nasir said: "Our argument was that the animals would be in a high street, penned in and not coming into contact with other livestock."

But a spokeswoman for the Department for Food, Rural Affairs and Agriculture, said: "It's regrettable but in the bigger scheme of things we would hope the situation will be understood.

"The original outbreak was not helped by the modern practice of frequent movement of livestock around the country."

She added: "The 21-day standstill is a slowing down of that process."

Helen Harte, from McDonald's in Barnet which organises the event, urged people not to let the absence of reindeer put them off.

"It's a great shame because they have become a Christmas tradition in Barnet but at the end of the day there are lots of other things going on," she said.

November 28, 2001 19:36

MATTHEW NIXSON