High street sales show dip

HIGH Street sales saw a "disappointing" drop in May as the sunny weather failed to sustain the Easter boost.

Like-for-like sales were down by 0.8 per cent in May against a year ago, according to the British Retail Consortium-KMPG survey, in stark contrast to the unexpected 4.6 per cent surge the previous month, caused by a late Easter and early spring sunshine.

Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG, said: "These figures may look disappointing after last month's positive results were flattered by the timing of Easter."