BARGAIN hunters will hit the Boxing Day sales in Berkshire today for a spot of post-Christmas shopping.

It comes after a survey suggested consumer appetite for the December 26 sales has dampened this year against a backdrop of extended discounting by squeezed retailers.

A quarter of Britons (23%) will shop in the Boxing Day sales, down from 32% last year, according to Barclaycard.

The figures suggest incentive to buy in the sales has weakened following widespread discounting, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday, that continued well into December.

But post-Christmas shoppers are still predicted to go on a £3.85 billion bargain hunt on Boxing Day, spending £2.95 billion on the high street and another £900 million online, according to VoucherCodes.co.uk and the Centre for Retail Research.

Shoppers are expected to spend £7.6 billion between Boxing Day and December 29, with 67% of this going into high street tills.

The New West End Company is among those expecting a bumper Boxing Day, projecting a spend of £55 million which they attribute to a sustained increase in trade from international shoppers after the Brexit vote.

Jace Tyrrell, chief executive, said: "Boxing Day always delivers for the West End but this year promises to be especially strong for retailers as visitors from around the globe make the most of the amazing deals available from our world-class mix of retailers combined with the relative value of the weak pound.

"We expect a significantly higher number of Chinese tourists to come over specifically to bargain hunt."

Meanwhile, with Paddington Station closed over the festive season for major work on the Crossrail project, it means major disruption for commuters travelling into London between Christmas and New Year.

The station will be closed for six days until Thursday, December 29, and there will be a reduced timetable between Friday, December 30 and Monday, January 2.

It means that commuters and shoppers will be diverted to London Waterloo via Reading.

The six-day closure, which began on Christmas Eve, will enable Network Rail staff to upgrade tracks in Paddington and make the station ready for the new hybrid Hitachi trains.

The news has prompted criticism from Labour, who have said that travellers visiting relatives or hitting the Boxing Day sales will face a "standstill" on the railways due to a "lack of action" by the Government, Labour said.

Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald accused the Tories of "hypocrisy" for attacking Labour over the issue while in opposition but then not taking action in office.

Large parts of the country will be without a rail service on Boxing Day, while some operators will only be running a limited number of trains.

Mr McDonald said: "Tory ministers' handling of the Boxing Day rail standstill is making it much harder for families and friends to visit one another this Christmas break.

"In opposition the Tories attacked the Boxing Day rail shutdown. They've now had more than six years to do something about it but haven't.

"Their lack of action, even despite the chaos of previous years, gives the impression they don't really care about it at all. The Tory hypocrisy on this issue is astounding."

Rail operators which are not running services on Boxing Day include Arriva Trains Wales, c2C, CrossCountry, East Midlands, Grand Central, Great Northern, Great Western, London Midland, Northern Rail, South West, Thameslink, TransPennine Express and Virgin.

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: "Deciding the level of service on specific days is a matter for train operators.

"But we know some passengers want to travel on Boxing Day, and that's why we have worked with the rail industry to ensure there are limited services on some franchises on that day, and that the scope for Boxing Day services is considered when we are planning future franchises.

"Network Rail and train companies have ensured that a large part of the railway will remain open over the Christmas/New Year period and alternative routes are provided where the lines are closed for essential engineering work, and that these are communicated properly to the public."