A BLACKBURN trader has blasted the manufacturer of the hugely-popular Teletubbies dolls, claiming they are ignoring requests for supplies from small traders in favour of feeding national companies. While hundreds of people spent Friday night queuing outside the Preston branch of Toys 'R' Us in the hope of purchasing the toy for Christmas - a replica of TV favourites Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po - shoppers in Blackburn stand little chance of buying one of the £10 dolls because all supplies are being sent straight to the larger stores.

Manager of Mercer's Department store in Blackburn, Neil Atherton, fumed: "When the teletubbies were launched, I'm sure Ragdoll (who make the Teletubbies TV series) had no idea they would be so successful.

"So the contract to make the toys was handed to a relatively small firm, Golden Bear, who specialise in making small numbers of quality dolls. Unfortunately, these things have taken off and because the distributors are only a small firm, they find it easier to take a crate-load to catalogue stores than breaking the deliveries down for independent traders such as ourselves.

"It is a sore point for us and it is unfair. Local shoppers and children will miss out this Christmas."

And Neil isn't expecting too many Spice Girl dolls, which are expected to compete with the Teletubbies for the Christmas toy number one slot.

Less than 200,000 have been made in time for Christmas.

But even the larger outlets are struggling to stock up.

A spokesman for Argos, who have a branch in Blackburn and a "Call and Collect" service in Darwen, said: "We just haven't got enough to go round."

ZStores are reporting that an old board game could soon start competing for the toy top spot this Christmas.

Pop Up Pirate, a game where players have to push as many swords into a barrel before the pirate pops up, have being selling well despite being more than ten years old, according to Mercers, Toys 'R' Us and Argos.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.