South Wales Argus reporter Daniel Lombard got more than he bargained for when he was sent to cover the switching-on of Newport’s Christmas lights.

Following the arrival of the city’s mayor Councillor Miqdad Al-Nuaimi and Santa Claus via a zip slide from the fourth floor of a multi-storey car park, an announcement was made to the assembled crowds that the next person down would be the Argus reporter.

This came as a bit of a shock to 26-year-old Daniel who had no idea he would have to actually take part in the proceedings.

But in front of an audience of 6,000 people, the intrepid reporter clambered over the railing of the car park and, in his words, “held on for dear life”.

He even managed a wave to the crowd.

“It was possibly a bit of an anti-climax for the crowd who were expecting to see a celebrity zipping down the slide,” said Daniel.

“But it was a memorable experience and thankfully I made it down in one piece.”

Argus deputy editor Nicole Garnon said: “It was a bit of a shock for Daniel as he had no idea he was to be roped in.

“It is credit to him that he just took it in his stride and still managed to file a coherent story for the paper.”