The glum news comes from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), echoing reports produced by other organisations this festive shopping season.

BRC director-general Kevin Hawkins told the BBC:

"I think this year there is a lot of discounting at the moment - more so than last year.

"It has been led by the clothing retailers and department stores. The reason is that the autumn weather was so mild that it leaves them with the problem of getting rid of winter stock."