The boss of the outdoor retail specialist, which reported its 22^nd consecutive year of record Christmas sales mere months ago, has said his business is now in a “battle for survival” after recording plummeting shopper numbers in recent days.

Neale said he expected low footfall to worsen following the government’s advise against large public gatherings and increasingly stringent measures on self-isolation and social distancing yesterday.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, Neale said: “Our sales have completely evaporated since Thursday and Friday last week. Yesterday our sales were about 50% down on what we would expect, and following the announcements yesterday I expect they are going to be worse today and tomorrow.”