SANTAS will be swapping their sleighs for paddleboards this weekend as they hit the water to raise money for a cat rescue.

The Santa Paws SUP Christmas paddleboard event is due to take place on Sunday morning in Poole Harbour.

SUPscene365 will be hosting t will be raising money for Paula’s Cat Rescue which is a non-profit group run by volunteers that rescues and rehomes cats and kittens.

The Santas will launch at 11am from Evening Hill, by the East Dorset Sailing Club and they will paddle along the shoreline towards Rick Stein's restaurant if conditions are not too windy.

If it is windy, the group will be in the corner on Banks Road, at the end of the shoreline, closer to the restaurant.

The event will last around an hour and participants are encouraged to dress as Santa, an elf or as Rudolph.

Organiser Elaine Williams, from SUPscene365 said: “Santa SUPs, I’ve personally been taking part in them for about 12 years, they’re all over the country. It’s quite a popular thing.

“But this is the first year that I’ve done it with my own business, and also the first year that we’ve been supporting Paula’s Cat Rescue in a big way with the Halloween SUP and now this.”

The business held another stand-up paddleboarding event to raise funds for the rescue at Halloween, raising more than £1,600.

Elaine said how important the funds are for independent cat rescues like Paula’s.

“The funds are so important for all rescues,” she said. “The largest thing that they have to pay out is the vet fees all the time.

“For instance, when we did the Halloween SUP, they had a little kitten brought in called Stevie who had been found on his own in a car park with such bad eye infections he couldn’t see.

“Paula’s rescue took him in, they took him to the vets, it must have cost a lot of money, and now Stevie has got sight in one eye, possibly coming back in the other eye.”

To join the event, it costs £10 per paddler, all of which will go to Paula’s Cat Rescue.

There will also be an onshore street collection during the event, and participants can enjoy mince pies afterwards.

To book your place, message SUPscene356 on Facebook or via email.