Most preachers who fall foul of parents for letting slip that Santa doesn't exist do so by accident. 

But a preacher in Amarillo, Texas, has infuriated parents after shouting at children waiting in line for Santa's Grotto that they were being lied to.

David Grisham filmed himself at a shopping mall saying to children: "Kids, I want to tell you today that there is no such thing as Santa Claus. Santa Claus does not exist.

'The Christmas season is about Jesus. Jesus was born 2016 years ago. He was born in a manger in a small town called Bethlehem. That is the truth about Christmas.

"The man you're going to see today is just a man in a suit dressed up like Santa but Santa doesn't exist, Santa is not real."

The video posted on the Facebook page of Grisham's organisation, Last Frontier Evangelism, shows parents telling Grisham to "quit it" and leave the children alone. However, he tells them: "Do not lie to your children and tell them there is such a thing as Santa when you know in reality that there are no flying reindeer, there is no workshop at the North Pole, there is no elves making toys, that you buy all the gifts and put them under the tree.

"That's the truth and there is no real Santa Claus."

An angry parent comes over and confronts Grisham and tells him to leave, to which he responds, "I'm not leaving, I'm not leaving, you keep your hands to yourself." Another tells Grisham it is "not your decision to make" about what they tell their children. He eventually tells them to "have a nice day" and moves on.