SOCCER-MAD children have forced a supermarket Santa to dress in black and white.

The Asda store faced grumbles from Newcastle United supporters because Santa was dressed in Sunderland's red and white.

So, instead of having youngsters shunning him, the shop, in Peterlee, County Durham, brought in an extra Santa.

Now there are two grottos, each decked out in the colours of the North-East rivals.

An Asda spokesman said: "The grotto opened over two weeks ago and we saw that a week later, the number of children visiting nearly halved.

"A survey was conducted of the children still entering the grotto and it revealed that they believed Santa was a Sunderland fan because of his red and white suit and that young Magpies' fans did not want to go near their rivals' colours."

In the name of fair play, bosses raced into action, ordering a black and white Santa suit.

Ken Hewiit, the store's manager, said, "Once the young Magpies' fans told us their Christmas wish, we were happy to help."