Almost from the minute that large parts of the UK had a hosepipe ban inposed on them, it started raining and has barely stopped, producing the wettest April ever.

This has impacted on the UK, with like for like retail sales figures down 3.3% in April, released by the British Retail Consortium.

Reasonable to expect that sales of hosepipes might be a little lower but clothing, especially women's and footwear, have also been hit hard.

The accompanying low temperatures also cooled the market for holiday wear and outdoor products such as the new table and chairs or the barbecue that can feed the entire neghbourhood.