Outdoor retailer Blacks Leisure has turned to its bank for extra support after a slide in sales caused debt to surge.

The group, which has some 300 Blacks and Millets stores, has negotiated a new £40m banking facility from Bank of Scotland, effectively giving it an extra £2m until December 15.

The move follows a "significant increase" in its debt after a worse than expected 9.7% drop in like-for-like sales in the 19 weeks to July 9 caused by "challenging market conditions" amid the squeeze in consumer spending.

Chief executive Neil Gillis said the facility was needed to provide "sufficient headroom".