Garden centres in Northern Ireland may be facing spring trading decreases of up to 20 per cent thanks to the region’s sixth coldest March on record, according to a report on Ulster TV.

One Belfast centre reported sales down by as much as 90% last weekend. Robin Mercer of the family-owned Hillmount Garden Centre said the weather has caused more than £20,000 worth of damage after a canopy covering saplings collapsed under the weight of the previous week-end’s snow.

“As far as Easter goes we'll be about 60 or 70% down especially for plant sales," he told reporters. “People should be thinking of barbeque and gardening furniture and all the summer items.”

The report said allotment gardeners in the region were struggling to get started. Plot holder Gordon Scott told his interviewer: “We've been unable to do anything on the allotment at all and a lot of plants that were put in, like potatoes for instance, in mid-March, we would expect to see flourishing by now but there's absolutely no sign of them yet.”