CHRISTMAS has arrived at one of south Essex’s most popular garden centres as bosses launch their Santa’s grotto - including a thrilling VR experience and singing reindeers. 

Alton Garden Centre, off the A127 in Basildon, opened its grotto on Friday after weeks of hard work by co-ordinator Jay Bunker. 

Jay took charge of the Christmas grotto last year, seeing the number of visitors rise from 500 to 4,500. 

Now, he has his eyes set on hitting 5,000 this festive season and is confident this years attraction is “bigger and better” than ever.

Youngsters will meet Santa in one of two dedicated gifting roomsYoungsters will meet Santa in one of two dedicated gifting rooms (Image: George Pizani) Over the last two years, Jay has transformed Alton’s struggling grotto into an immersive festive experience including a virtual reality sleigh ride.

“I ran the grotto years ago but have been running the barbecue section for the last fifteen years”, said Jay.

Jay, pictured left, has spent six weeks preparing his all-out Christmas grottoJay, pictured left, has spent six weeks preparing his all-out Christmas grotto (Image: George Pizani)He added: “I was asked to come back to the grotto two years ago and think I’ve taken it to the next level since then.

The grotto's VR sleigh ride adds an extra element of excitementThe grotto's VR sleigh ride adds an extra element of excitement (Image: George Pizani) “This year we’ve got two Santa rooms, a VR sleigh ride, an extended Christmas walk through and loads of little hidden surprises”.

Jay has gone all out on his revamped Christmas grotto and thinks that the work he has done will result in the grotto’s highest ever visitor numbers.

“We increased our visitors by around 500 to 4,500 last year, and I am confident that this year we’ll see more than 5,000 coming to us”, he said.

Lead elf, Sue, with one of the grotto's singing reindeer animatronicsLead elf, Sue, with one of the grotto's singing reindeer animatronics (Image: George Pizani) Jay claims that he has spent around six weeks preparing the grotto alongside colleagues Sue Geller and Jamie Long.

The work done by Jay and his team has been well-received by everyone at Alton Garden Centre, with HR manager and Christmas lead, Jan Walters, saying: “It’s a long standing thing at Alton Garden Centre and we’re now in a position where people who visited the grotto as youngsters are now brining their own children".

Jan heads up Alton's Christmas events alongside Joanna Lewis and Maria SantosJan heads up Alton's Christmas events alongside Joanna Lewis and Maria Santos (Image: George Pizani)Jan added: “This year we’re making a special effort to ensure that the grotto is as accessible as possible and are looking to arrange allocated time slots for those with extra needs to visit us.”

Alton Garden Centre's grotto will be open on weekends in November and seven days a week throughout December. 

More information can be found at alton-gardencentre.co.uk/santas-grotto/