SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons admitted today that its Christmas sales were below par after feeling the heat from rivals in a "highly promotional" market.

The UK’s fourth-biggest grocer, which employs around 130,000 staff at 455 stores in the UK, reported a 2.5% decline in like-for-like sales for the six weeks to December 30, a performance it labelled as disappointing.

Despite the latest drop in sales, which follows a 2.1% decline in the previous quarter, Morrisons said it remained on track to meet profit expectations.