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Swearing Santas, who had drunk a sleighful, have upset children with their presence at a Hoyts movie theatre.
Police believe the Santas were a group of university students dressed in Santa suits who ran amok for 20 seconds through Hoyts Cinema complex in the South Island city of Christchurch on Saturday, manager Derek Rive said.
A drunken mob of rude oafs swarmed into the Hoyts Cinema on Moorhouse Avenue around 4pm on Saturday, wreaking havoc.
Kate Gorman, 35, told the Christchurch Press she was waiting to watch Enchanted with her two children when they arrived.
"At least 50 drunk idiots dressed up like Santa come in through the main door. They were kicking things over, ripping down posters and smashing everything in sight. They were shouting `Ho, f.... Ho'."
Ms Gorman said her children aged six and seven were not sure how to interpret the event.
"They asked me, 'Are they Santa's helpers gone crazy?' and I said `No, they are just idiots'."
"How often do a bunch of Santas just go and wreak havoc?" Rive said. "It was a random act of stupidity" that upset moviegoers.
The Santas finished their naughtiness binge by setting off a fire alarm before escaping.
- NZPA
