Famous British department store Harrods on Wednesday ordered the sacking of its Santa Claus for making "inappropriate remarks" to adult customers.

According to the Sun online, Santa was assigned to the Father Christmas World at the flagship store in London's Knightsbridge. His seasonal contract was terminated after complaints from visitors.

It said that Santa had reportedly asked an Asian family, "What are you doing here, shouldn't you be in Tesco?"

He also allegedly asked the same family's teenage girl to sit on his knee.

But a spokesman for Harrods said Father Christmas had not made racial remarks but admits the comments were "inappropriate."

The store said in a statement, "We were able to identify the individual in question and having investigated the complaint thoroughly we terminated his seasonal contract.

"There is no excuse for causing any level of complaint amongst our customers, and even if the remarks were made in good humor, we cannot condone behavior that offends our customers.

"It's also very sad that these incidents may ruin the enchantment of the grotto for our younger customers who still hold dear the fantasy that there is only one Father Christmas."