Kingfisher has blamed the cold weather earlier in the year for a fall in footfall and sales at its B&Q DIY stores.

Like for like sales tumbled by nine per cent in the UK and Ireland to £828 million in the three months to the end of April, according to a trading update.

Like for like sales at Kingfisher's Screwfix stores rose by 3.6 per cent to £395 million and total group sales were up four per cent at £2,825 million.

Véronique Laury, Kingfisher's chief executive officer, said: "It was a challenging start to the year with exceptionally harsh weather across Europe and weak UK consumer demand. This impacted footfall, especially sales of weather related categories. February and March were particularly affected with sales improving over the course of April and into May.

"We are on track to deliver our ONE Kingfisher strategic milestones for the third year in a row and we continue to see tangible delivery of our plan. Around 40 per cent of our ranges are now unified and continue to be well received by customers.

"Sales of these ranges, excluding outdoor products, are up, and we expect to grow the full year group gross margin, after clearance costs. Meanwhile, we are into the final year of our unified IT platform roll out with Poland now underway and Brico Dépôt France due to start soon.

"Market conditions continue to be mixed. The UK is uncertain, as demonstrated by recent weak retail sales data; France is encouraging, but volatile; whilst Poland continues to be supportive.

"We remain confident about delivering the business and customer benefits of our transformation plan, supported by the continued hard work and expertise of our colleagues."