SUPERMARKET giant Morrisons, which has a major town centre store in Blackburn, saw sales over Christmas leap by more than 14 per cent.

The firm said December 23 was its busiest trading day ever.

And Matalan, which has a store in Accrington, reported sales increasd by 11.4 per cent in the five weeks to January 2.

Sales in total last year were £278.2 million, a 21 per cent increase on 1997.

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