CHESSINGTON staff painted children's faces as firefighters fought to stop the blaze in Santa's grotto spreading to nearby buildings.
A fire decimated a cafe at Chessignton World of Adventures today, while it was supposed to be housing Santa's grotto.
No one was hurt and animals were evacuated to ensure their safety.
Eight fire crews from Surrey Fire and Rescue and London Fire Brigade battled the blaze, including crew members from Leatherhead and Godstone fire stations.
One firefighter said: "We don't know what caused the fire yet, there is an ongoing investigation.
"The idea was to stop the fire spreading to nearby buildings, if it had spread we could have lost a lot of the leisure park.
"The first idea was stop it spreading rather than putting it out."
Crew worked for more than five hours to control the flame and bring it under control.
Another firefighter said: "A lot of the buildings there have a lot of wood in them and they're linked.
"Luckily the wind was blowing in the right direction - it wasn't blowing the flames through the building towards the others."
The park and surrounding roads were closed and Chessignton staff were employed painting faces to entertain youngsters.
One member of staff told us: "I walked towards the building and I could smell smoke then we just heard popping and crackling."
