Radio 5 live host gives his badly-behaved children coal on Christmas Day

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A Radio 5 presenter has made headlines after confessing that he gave his two young children lumps of coal on Christmas morning to punish them for their bad behaviour.

Nihal Arthanayake, also known as DJ Nihal, told listeners of his Afternoon Edition show on Boxing Day that his kids had been “fighting like cats and dogs” and he wanted to discipline them.

However, his plan backfired as he revealed that upon finding the coal, both children were left reeling for the entire day acting like they had been “dipped in sewage”.

What Arthanayake thought would be an effective disciplinary stunt turned out to be a fairly dramatic affair that left his kids traumatised for most of Christmas Day.

The former Radio 1 host explained that his 10-year-old son took it particularly badly and threatened to write a letter to Santa Claus chastising him for being overweight.

“My son is going to fat-shame Santa,” he said.

However, as for his eight-year-old daughter, Arthanayake revealed that she “couldn’t have cared less” by the end of the day.

The 46-year-old presenter and his wife went to great lengths to ensure their children believed that the coal came from Santa himself, asking a neighbour to write a fake letter reprimanding them for their behaviour.

“Due to my kids being quite naughty recently we’ve put coal in their stockings and got a neighbour to write a letter as Santa cussing them detailing how naughty they have been and how they have to be much nicer to each other,” he wrote on Twitter.

Despite buying both children real gifts, the BBC Radio 5 live host explained that he struggled to perk them up after his plan went awry and that he won't be doing it again.

The debacle provoked mixed reactions on Twitter.

While some found the incident hilarious, others criticised Arthanayake and his wife for their actions.

"I don’t like this at all," wrote one user.

"Surely you could have disciplined them on another day in another way? Whilst keeping Christmas magic alive, they’ll hold this against you for life! I can’t really believe you haven’t received more negative reaction! It is really mean spirited."