Has a Santa mystery been solved by the discovery of a toy car in a gas main near Manchester?

• Die-cast Dinky Toy found inside a gas main in Droylsden during project to replace some of the oldest gas mains in the area.
• Theory put forward that this could be Santa’s secret delivery route for presents, or (which is less festive fun) kids playfully messing around when the pipe was installed back in the 1960s.
• Experienced engineers describe finding footballs, a pair of trousers and old newspapers inside gas pipelines over the years.

It has puzzled children since folklore began – just how does Santa get unseen into every house, in one night, to deliver all those Christmas presents?

Gas network Cadent believes it may have a new theory, after discovering a Dinky Toy car inside a gas main it was upgrading in Droylsden, Greater Manchester.

Could this be a toy left behind by Saint Nicholas himself, or his army of elves, using the network of underground (and unseen) gas pipes to make Christmas Eve deliveries?

Is Santa and his team of reindeers focussed on delivering the big gifts, while his little helpers take the lead in delivering the smaller ones through subterranean pipelines?

It’s a theory which stacks up (to a degree) when you consider that more than 83 per cent of homes are connected into the local gas distribution network in the UK – the pipes which transport gas around the country to heat homes, schools, hospitals and other buildings.

Sceptics are questioning how the elves and their toys get into the sealed gas network, as well as how they might then have transported this car through the pipes which run from the big main in the road into people’s houses – given these pipes are much narrower than the toy.

So, an alternative theory put forward is that the toy car was placed in the pipeline, perhaps by mischievous, playful children, when it was originally installed in the 1960s – and stayed there until it was discovered, earlier this month, during a camera survey by contractors for Cadent.

Shane Mulhern, director of Stockport-based gas main-laying company PMCE, which is helping Cadent upgrade its oldest pipes in the Greater Manchester area, was operating the camera equipment when the unusual find was made.

“Before we insert the new polyethylene gas pipes into the old iron mains, we camera them, to find the services [the narrower pipes which run off the bigger gas main, into homes], and look for any possible obstructions along the way,” said Shane.

“I was pushing the camera along the main in Canberra Street, Droylsden, when I came across what looked like a toy car. I couldn’t believe my eyes!

“Later, when we ‘broke out’ a section of the main, I was able to retrieve it. I’ve looked it up and it’s a toy that was made by Dinky up to the 1960s, so the dates match with when this old cast iron pipe was originally put in.

“The way gas pipes were installed in those days was very different to how we do it now and we do come across foreign objects from time to time – I’ve found trousers before, and a newspaper from 1957.” 

The toy car appears to be a Dinky Toys Daimler Scout Car, a die-cast model of a British light reconnaissance vehicle used during the Second World War. They were made from 1942 to the 1960s.

Unless an object like this creates a blockage of some kind, it’s unlikely to cause a major issue to the distribution of gas through the network. Other experienced Cadent engineers report having found a football, an oil can, boots, planks of wood and a golf club inside old gas mains.

The project in Droylsden is part of a 30-year programme by the gas distribution networks, to upgrade old metallic gas mains and replace them with durable plastic pipes. As well as maintaining a safe and reliable supply of gas now, the modernisation ensures the network is ready for the increased introduction of greener gases, like biomethane.

In the North West area this year alone, £75m is being invested by Cadent to upgrade around 385km of its local network.