Morrisons had a bumper Christmas season, as it reveals a 9.3 per cent rise in sales over Christmas and the New Year.

The grocer said that sales were up 8.1 per cent in the 22 weeks to January 3, following the trend that Brits spent a record amount on festive food and drink from supermarkets.

Champagne sales at Morrisons rose 64 per cent compared to last year, with sales of whole salmon also up 40 per cent.

Chief executive Dave Potts said: "I'm very pleased with the way the Morrisons team has helped our customers across the nation enjoy their Christmas in the best way they could.

"We will carry on listening, responding and growing, and take all the positive learnings and momentum of the most challenging of years into what we believe will be a better 2021 for all."

This news comes as Market research firm Kantar said that December 2020 had been the busiest month in history for the UK grocery industry, with shoppers spending a record £11.7billion.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar said: "December is always an incredibly busy time for supermarkets, but take-home grocery shopping is usually supplemented by celebrations in restaurants, pubs and bars - with £4 billion spent on food and drink, excluding alcohol, out of the home during the normal festive month.

"This year, almost all those meals were eaten at home."