I have a phobia of Christmas which leaves me short of breath and sweating – the thing that sets me off is really weird

DAD Garry Hollidge has revealed he suffers a ­festive phobia — of Father Christmas figures.

Gary, 47, experiences shortness of breath and breaks out in a cold sweat the second he spots a dancing Santa Claus.

Jam Press/Sonja Horsman

Gary avoids festive decorations and says his sense of anxiety worsens around the seasonal period[/caption]

It started when he was seven after the “unexpected” movement of a figure triggered his trauma.

He avoids decorations and says his sense of anxiety worsens as Christmas Day approaches.

Ex-pub landlord Gary, a dad of two of Whitstable, Kent, said: “It’s bizarre, I know, but the weird little dancing figures freak me out.

“I can’t bear the way they move. When a Santa starts jiggling, I start to sweat and my hands go all clammy.”

Gary, who dodged pals’ parties as a child if they had a moving Santa decoration, added: “I’ve no problems with real-life Santas in a red hat and white beard — but dancing ones? No.

“It’s not enjoyable as they can appear anywhere, any time.”