Julian Winfield, Chief Executive of Haskins Garden Centres, said that they also saw a much needed boost of retail sales.

“Each centre saw retail sales increase by an average of 50%. The level of footfall in our centres was compared by our staff to one of the busiest days of the year which is “Mother’s Day”. We believe it was more like a “Grandparents day”, as many of the customers appeared to looking after grandchildren to help out parents faced with the day of school closures.”

He estimates that overall sales were boosted by £40,000 compared to the same day last year.