HOME care stores have been given an added Christmas bonus by the cold weather, with heaters flying of the shelves.

Masters reported four times their normal trade and Gorhams a 100 percent increase in sales for this time of year, boosting sales in the department stores.

Masters is running low on kerosene, used to power some heaters, and expects to be sold out of some radiators by the end of the week.

Gorhams said that heaters were flying off the shelves with extra staff being brought in from the back of the store to help with the tills.

Henry Durham, assistant general manager, said: "We usually do a good trade this time of year, but this cold weather is definitely boosting sales. I would say we are selling at least 100 percent more heaters than we would normally at this time of year.'' Mark Stearns, manager at Masters Ltd, said: "I would say sales of heaters are quadruple what they normally are. We are almost out of kerosene, but have some in a container waiting to come in.

"I would say that if the cold weather continues to the end of the week we will have sold out of some of the makes of heaters.'' The cold spell struck on Boxing Day, after a glorious Christmas Eve and wet Christmas day.

But with the hot weather in the run-up to Christmas, with temperatures reaching a record 76 degrees on December 19 and 20, many households were caught unprepared when temperatures fell to 53 degrees at 7 a.m. on Boxing Day morning, the coldest Boxing Day on record.

And the cold front, which is expected to last at least until the end of the week, had customers in Masters when its doors opened at 8 a.m. looking for heaters.

During the last cold spell in October, Masters sold 150 heaters -- more than it expected to sell during the whole winter period.

The most popular sellers in both stores are the oil filled radiators which start at about $100.

Also fuel filled fire logs in both stores have been hot sellers.

Photos by Nigel Richardson The heat is on: Shoppers have been flooding to Masters and Gorhams to buy all kinds of heaters, kerosene and wooden logs.