A man who ordered a small inflatable Santa was shocked when he blew it up and discovered it was taller than his house.

Dave Goodings' towering inflatable - measuring over six metres (20ft) - has become the 'talk of the town' since it was blown up earlier this month.

The 30-year-old bought the decoration, which was advertised as being just four feet (1.2 metres) tall, online for only £24.99 and is elated at his bargain.

However, the Santa is so big it means the DJ and his partner can no longer park their cars on their driveway in Chessington, Surrey.

Mr Goodings said that though he loves his new decoration - which has now become something of a local tourist attraction - he had to deflate it over the weekend as Storm Darragh raged.

He explained that having lived in their home for around three years now, this was the first year they decided to put decorations outside.

"We kept it quite low-key the first couple of years but this was the first year we decorated the outside. "

"We put icicles on the guttering and ordered the inflatable Santa online for £24.99. "

"It was supposed to be 4ft but it was way bigger than we ever thought it would be. "

"We were very surprised... We thought the box was big, but we went with it. "

"It was not what we expected when we opened it. It took about ten minutes to inflate and ended up taller than the house!"

"Suddenly, we've gon from no decorations to this giant inflatable - zero to a hundred."

Mr Goodings joked that they were taking customers from nearby theme park and zoo Chessington World of Adventures because they'd had so many visitors since the Santa was blown up.

"It's not that busy on our street, but within ten minutes of inflating it people were walking by and taking photos," he continued. "

"One person said they could see it from the bottom of their road. "

"It has almost become a mini tourist attraction. "

"We even joked we might be stealing customers from Chessington World of Adventures!"

"Everyone wants to see the giant Santa. It's the talk of the town."

Mr Goodings, an events DJ who runs his own company - Surrey and Sussex DJs - added that since posting about his new purchase online, he'd even received offers from people wanting to buy the huge inflatable.

"It has been quite a ride since I got it, to say the least," he said. "

"It has taken off on TikTok. People are saying we have to keep it and I've also had offers to buy it. "

"One guy from Ireland said he'd buy it if we could send it there."

"Other people are saying we should get an inflatable snowman to go with the Santa."

"I want to keep it - it's an opportunity too good to miss. But my missus is more realistic."

Mr Goodings admits that there are concerns about the inflatable blowing down the road and causing damage in heavy winds, and says he and his partner are still debating whether or not to send it back.

He said: "It was really windy over the weekend with the storm, and we were worried about it blowing down the street and causing some damage so we took it down. "

"I think it's amazing, but my partner's being more practical. "

"When something like this falls in your lap you've got to go with it, I think. "

"We're debating whether we keep it or return it now."