PEOPLE are normally wrapped up in warm clothing at this time of year but with a spell of very mild weather we’ve had some unusual scenes.

Temperatures have been way above the average for December with forecasters predicting record highs this month.

Some shops in Oxford have noticed a drop in sales of jumpers and coats, which normally soar off the shelves in the run-up to Christmas.

Staff at Fresh Clothing in Golden Cross Walk, off Cornmarket Street, say the weather has affected their sales and they have had to look again at the type of items being offered.

Shop assistant Liliana Resende said: “We have two sale racks and a few of our coats have been reduced.

“This year has been particularly hard for selling our woollen coats, which are the most expensive.

“We know that the weather affects the sales of our coats so we haven’t been ordering any more. The ones we currently stock have not been selling.”

Vicky Proper, who owns the Next to Nothing clothing store in Oxford’s Covered Market, has also had to reduce the price of some of her warmer clothes.

But Sarah Wearden, who owns clothes shop Indigo in Cowley Road, said they would be sticking to a traditional January sale.

She said: “We don’t want to get into the sale mindset before Christmas just yet. It’s going to get colder in January and February so our knitwear will go on sale then.”

Some outdoor ice rinks across the country have had issues with melting in the warm weather but those in Oxfordshire say it hasn’t caused them a problem.

Staff at Bicester Avenue Wyevale Garden Centre say they have been very busy, especially at the weekends, and haven’t noticed a drop in people coming to skate.

Jeff Milne, who works at the ice rink, said they have extra coolants on hand to stop the ice from melting.

“We haven’t been too negatively affected but we do have the means to add extra coolants, but only in the worst cases.”

Tomorrow is set to the warmest day of December on record in the UK but it could be a different story when Christmas arrives with experts warning a storm is on its way.

The forecast bad weather could well cause travel disruption to millions ahead of the Christmas getaway, according to meteorologists at AccuWeather.

Grahame Madge, spokesman for the Met Office, said: “The weather is very mild for this time of year.

“We might possibly reach our maximum temperatures for December, although that has not happened yet.”