More snow means that Christmas gifts bought online after today are unlikely to be delivered on time, online retailers have warned.
Some have begun cancelling Christmas orders because couriers cannot deliver goods due to adverse weather conditions.
The news comes as huge areas of Britain are hit with fresh snowfall and severe ice on the roads, with forecasters promising there is more to come.
Online retailer, Smyths Toys has already cancelled hundreds of orders for toys and gifts as a huge backlog of undelivered gifts, totalling more than four million items, has built up at private courier firms over the past two weeks.
Spokesman, Jamie Darby told the Daily Mail: “It is with great regret that we have found it necessary to cancel a number of orders – in their hundreds – because it would have been impossible to get them to customers”.
Many internet shopping companies say they will not be able to make deliveries in Scotland and the north-east, which have been badly affected by the snow.
Meanwhile, stores including Amazon, Boots, Carphone Warehouse, Jessops and Best buy have brought their Christmas delivery order deadlines forward.
The deadline for Amazon first class post delivery is midnight on December 18. But it has assured that some orders can be taken up to 2pm on December 23 for delivery on Christmas Eve.
Neil Cotty, managing director of parcel and carrier management firm Global Freight Solutions, advises customers to place their orders as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
“Carriers will be deploying maximum resources over the next week to ensure that items do arrive in time and in certain central areas delivery times are at normal levels,” he said.
“However, given the localised nature of the extreme bad weather over the past few weeks and the prospect of further snow, some parts of the country may find it’s already too late.”
