One Santa Claus in England gave mall shoppers a bit more than they had expected when his rappelling stunt went wrong, reports the Daily Mail. The Santa was descending from a hole in the roof of the Broad Street Mall in Reading as part of a show to light up the mall’s Christmas lights when his fake beard got stuck in his rappelling gear, leaving him hanging for about 40 minutes.

Santa, really 32-year-old Steve Chessell of the British Army, hung there as the crowd watched before another member of his unit came to his rescue.

Eventually, Chessell's beard was cut free, and descended on his own to wild applause. Video of Santa's misadventure was posted on the mall's website.