One in five motorists plan a shopping spree in the north

A survey by AA Ireland has found that, one in five motorists plans to head into Northern Ireland to do their shopping in the run up to Christmas.

The mini exodus comes despite 'high fuel prices, the weakened euro and the inevitable queues', with many making a now-annual pilgrimage just across the border to retail parks in Newry.

Retail Ireland, the body that represents shopkeepers in the Republic, claims that 'a steady and protracted' decline in cross border shopping has been witnessed since the beginning of 2010.

The lower numbers are believed to be due to the Euro not being as strong against the pound this year.

Over the last couple of weeks, trade both north and south of the border has been below the levels expected in the run up to Christmas.

While the current economic situation has caused belt-tightening measures to come into play, the weather has kept potential shoppers at home.