Shop sales hit by cold weather

Freezing weather drove retail sales 1.3% down in April on a month earlier as barbecue goods and garden furniture remained stuck on stores' shelves.

Shrinking food sales weighed heavily in April, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, with food volumes slumping by 4.1% month on month to the lowest level since May 2011 as the deep freeze continued at the start of the month.%VIRTUAL-SkimlinksPromo%