CITY centre shops in York shared in an unexpected national boom over Christmas, traders said today.

With extra business generated by the city's ice skating rink, stores enjoyed a sharp burst of retail activity in the week running up to Christmas and the first couple of days of the post-Christmas sales.

But one leading retailer, Adam Sinclair, warned that the better-than-anticipated period had not solved all the problems facing businesses. "It turned a very difficult year into a difficult year," he said.

"The indications are that Christmas trade was better than anticipated in York, and the January sales started off well, although they then tailed off sharply."

Mr Sinclair, who is chairman of York Chamber of Trade, said there was no reason to be complacent about 2006, with businesses facing ever-rising costs while their customers also face increasing pressures on their bank accounts.

At the beginning of December, retailers were fearing a bad Christmas after analysts Footfall revealed that nationally there had been 6.5 per cent fewer visits to shops on one weekend than the same weekend the previous year. Some York retailers said then they had experienced some very quiet trading days.

But the British Retail Consortium said yesterday that national sales figures for December had bettered expectations, with retailers enjoying their best Christmas season in four years.

Like-for-like sales showed a 2.6 per cent improvement on the lacklustre performance of a year earlier, helped by heavy trade in the week before Christmas and the first two days of the sales.

Diane Golding, manager of York's Coppergate Centre and vice-president of York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said that from what she had heard, York businesses had reflected the national trend, with good sales over Christmas.

Brian Littlejohn, manager for Marks & Spencer's two city centre stores, said he was "very pleased" with trading over the last three months of 2005 in both the centre and at Monks Cross - "but December was fantastic".

Council leader Steve Galloway said the city had had a buoyant Christmas, with record attendances at the St Nicholas Fayre.

"York offers a unique historic backdrop coupled with a traditional atmosphere and a wide variety of shopping choices. I am confident that this combination will ensure that the city will remain a magnet for both residents and visitors for the foreseeable future."

David Aunins, retail operations manager for the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet at Fulford, said sales and footfall had been three per cent up in the ten weeks running up to Christmas, and ten per cent up in the fortnight since Christmas.

Updated: 10:32 Wednesday, January 11, 2006