Thousands of revellers dressed as Santa and his helpers took to the streets of London on Saturday for the annual Santacon pub crawl.

Billed as a "non-profit, non-corporate, non-commercial and non-sensical parade of festive cheer," Santacon traditionally happens on the second Saturday of each December, according to the event's Facebook page.

Undeterred by chilly temperatures, red-nosed revellers dressed up as Father Christmas, his reindeer and other Yuletide figures to barhop through the city for six hours.

Santacon has previously made headlines for inspiring bad behaviour, but this year organisers have promised they will be quick to prevent any of its merrymakers being put on the naughty list.

"Bad behaviour such as leaving litter and climbing on things is no way to spread goodwill and it gives Santacon a bad rep," the London Santacon website warned.

This year the proceeds from Santacon's ticket sales will go to London based charity Christmas for Kids, according to the Santacon website.