Christmas cheer turned to Christmas tears.

The childhood of some Welsh kids came to a screeching halt on Saturday when Santa Claus was driven away in a police van while they burst into tears.

The community event in Aberdare, Wales, got off to a jovial start when Saint Nick arrived with reindeer and sleigh and handed out presents to adoring children.

Organizers thought a police van was the easiest way to transport Santa out of the event. But the children were devastated.

“It left a lot of children upset because they thought he had been arrested. There was a lot of very upset kids thinking Santa wouldn’t be around for them,” Jade Hughes told the South Wales Evening Post. 

“There were a lot tears — people couldn’t believe it actually happened.

“My 4-year-old cousin started crying, saying, ‘Santa can’t bring me toys now.'”

A local council spokesman said: “It was always part of the arrangements to transport Father Christmas out of the town center in a vehicle provided by South Wales Police as quickly and as safely as possible as he has a busy few weeks ahead of him.”