Naughty Elf's up to his old shenanigans in the northern Illawarra

Naughty Elf is back and he's already getting up to mischief, all while sharing a few beach safety messages.

Bulli Surf Life Saving Club is home to the Naughty Elf and insiders have told the Mercury he was brought to life after being inspired by the well known Elf on the Shelf.

If you're lucky you might have spotted Naughty Elf, who shares an incredible likeness to the club's deputy president Lincoln Costello, running amok in the Illawarra's northern suburbs this month.

Some have seen him with a pair of tongs at the surf club's barbecue, raiding the pantry, hanging out with Santa and even visiting local businesses.

On Tuesday, December 5, Naughty Elf granted the Mercury an exclusive interview at Bulli Beach.

"I'm here today just to have a little bit of fun, put a smile on kids' faces, connect with community and try and raise a few safety messages, surf awareness messages and general safety for this time of year," he said.

Club president Jamie Caldwell said Naughty Elf is their official Christmas mascot.

"We do 25 days of Christmas countdown which has a variety of messages in it," he said.

"Last year was the first year we did it and it absolutely went worldwide. We had over one million social media hits across our various platforms wanting to keep up with Naughty Elf.

Keep up-to-date with Naughty Elf this year at Bulli Surf Club's Facebook or Instagram pages.