CHILDREN could be disappointed on Christmas Day when they discover up to half of their presents are packaging.

Lancashire's Trading Standards officers carried out a survey on Christmas toys and gadgets and found that between 32 and 83 per cent of the items' weight came from packaging.

In three quarters of the toys investigated, 50 per cent of the weight came from the box. One in 12 toys equated to only a quarter of the total pack weight.

Shoppers are now being urged to consider their purchases carefully to avoid disappointment and protect the environment, with unnecessary packaging linked to global warning.

County Councillor Jean Battle, cabinet member for community planning and partnerships, said: "We want people to think about the quantity of packaging they receive when they go gift-shopping.

"Some of the items purchased by Trading Standards staff would prove a big disappointment to children on Christmas day - it seems as if most of the effort goes into the big colourful boxes and very little into the tiny toys they contain.

"The UK is likely to run out of landfill in nine years, and it is inevitable that disposal charges will be passed on to the consumer in some way.

She added: "We are asking consumers to choose items with less packaging, and to bring over-packaged goods to the attention of Trading Standards.

"We are also trying to get across to businesses that excess packaging comes at a huge cost to them, with wasted manufacture, design and transport costs. "The environmental costs to the nation include overuse of raw materials, extra pollution from transport, the costs of eventual reuse or recycling, and the amount that ends in landfill."