Council chiefs have been branded Scrooges after they banned SpongeBob Squarepants from turning on the Christmas lights because of health and safety fears.
Hundreds of children suffered a blue Christmas and were left in tears after the costume of the TV favourite was deemed too wide to walk up five steps onto a platform. Thousands of families turned out to Wolverhampton's Market Square to see SpongeBob, and the council shelled out £2,000 to hire the costume. The plan was for him to appear on the back of a float which would carry him around town. However, he was only allowed to walk around at ground level under the stage, meaning he could only be seen by people at the front of the crowd.
Mark Blackstock, outdoor events manager for the council said, "Unfortunately, the character actor playing SpongeBob Squarepants was unable to climb the stairs on to the stage because of his costume. Health and safety considerations meant we were unable to lift him onto the stage using the tailgate of one of our vehicles because of the high numbers of people around the stage."
However, Judith Hackitt has responded swiftly to the media coverage of the incident. She countered, "The truth is that health and safety did not prevent SpongeBob Squarepants taking to the stage to switch the lights on. With a bit of common sense and proper forward planning it would have been perfectly possible to get SpongeBob upon to the stage, bulky costume or not. If I could have a Christmas wish for myself it would be that we hear a lot less of these ridiculous excuses in the future. That would be a gift we can all enjoy."
