Sales of mince pies at Sainsbury’s have dropped since last year due to a warmer winter, it has been claimed.

The supermarket chain has seen a drop in sales year-on-year, despite a recent Tweet from the company saying it was "expecting to sell 5.4 million mince pies this Christmas".

Simon Twigger, director of fresh and frozen foods, told British Baker’s sister title The Grocer that the marketplace had been "slower" than usual, adding: "The weather affects cakes particularly. We’d expect the growth to come either this week or next but it is coming through slower than expected."

Mike Coupe, Sainsbury’s commercial director, said: "We had the first frost this morning. Last year it was in September. This time last year we had snow."