TOWN centre traders in Burnley are toasting the New Year with the news of a bumper Christmas spending boom which has seen some shops take 30 per cent more than last year.

Figures from the Town Centre Management Team reveal shoppers were out in the town in force in the run up to December 25 and in the sales which began in some stores on Boxing Day.

Town centre manager Lisa Durkin said early reports indicated that clothing stores such as Next and Marks and Spencer have seen sales rocket though the roof during the run up to Christmas and the first few days of clearance -- with some recording a 30 per cent increase compared to last years spending figures.

Lisa said: "I got the figures for last week's spending which includes Saturday and Sunday and the first couple of days before Christmas which were extremely promising.

"Last year there were more shopping days because of the day Christmas fell on.

"So far there are reports of serious spending increases compared to last year.

"Some of the retailers are up by about 30 per cent."

She added: "Burnley town centre had some good figures in November and then there were a few quiet weeks before it picked up again in the two weeks before Christmas.

"A lot of people held back their money for the sales, which is why we are seeing such a good spending boom.

"This is the third year which we have monitored sales and each year we still experience growth.

"The clothing stores have done really well this year including Next and Marks and Spencer and we hope that will continue into 2003."