With the festive season in sight, Dobbies Garden Centres have announced their Christmas events offering for 2020 in the Shepton Mallet store.

This year's programme has a focus on bringing together communities, and with social distancing measures in place.

The safety of customers and team members is Dobbies' number one priority. To ensure customers feel safe and have an enjoyable experience, there will be reduced capacity at events to ensure social distancing is adhered to.

This will be managed with online bookings for all events. Scheduled cleaning and rigorous hygiene routines will also be carried out between events, with attendees notified when required to wear a face covering.

Santa's arrival is one of the highlights of the year at Dobbies in Shepton Mallet and this has now been confirmed as happening from November 22.

As well as giving Santa a warm welcome on the day, families can also book a Santa's Arrival Breakfast or Lunch, with items from the Christmas menu.

Children can explore the Winter Wonderland before seeing Santa in his grotto and receiving a gift. This year, the grottos will be in open spaces to allow for social distancing.

Graeme Jenkins, CEO at Dobbies, said: "Our Christmas events programme has something for all ages as we have focused on bringing communities back together over the festive period.

"We will be following Government guidelines to ensure our events are safe and enjoyable for both customers and team members."

Dobbies' Christmas events schedule is available to view online, with customers requested to book in advance wherever possible.

Customers can get a full refund if Dobbies cancel the event, and free cancellation if customers need to cancel, up to three days prior to the event.

Dates and prices for events are:

- From November 1, Afternoon Tea, from £15

- From November 22, Santa's Grotto, £11.99