SHOPPERS are being urged to think carefully before they splash out this Christmas.

Dennis Grant, of Swindon Chamber of Commerce, said he is concerned about the general on-going debt problem and believes Christmas could make it worse.

He said: "While I am obviously pleased that money is being spent in the stores, the levels of debt being accumulated is a little concerning.

"Unfortunately, you can not have one without the other. At Christmas people may be tempted to spend more than they should."

Mr Grant said the recent rise in interest rates appear to be having little effect on spending so far.

"There is no noticeable impact of the rise yet but then many people may not have received their credit card bills yet," he said.

He added that major town centre chains are reporting a highly competitive market in the run up to Christmas, with many being forced to drop prices and promote special offers.

Nick Beaumont-Jones, the manager of the Brunel Shopping Centre, said shoppers have been slow to hit the shops this year, but he expects a roaring trade.

He said: "Initially like the rest of the UK Swindon had quite a slow start, but things are definitely starting to pick up now.

"Up until recently it has been rather mild. People perhaps thought that Christmas was a long way off.

"Now, of course, it has got colder and darker people have started to think that they haven't got an awful amount of time left to get all their shopping done."

Although video games still appear to be top of the wish list for children this Christmas, many traditional board games are having a renaissance.

Darren Davies, the manager of Toys R Us, in Stratton St Mar-garet, says sales of family favourites Monopoly, Scrabble and Pictionary are rising.

He said: "I'm not too sure why these games are selling so well, although the parents who see their children spending hours in front of the TV have probably got something to do with it."

George Copplestone, the manager of Debenhams in the Parade, has also seen board game sales rocket. He said: "We are selling a lot of these games."