Sainsbury's will remain open on Boxing Day - albeit with reduced opening hours - following calls for supermarkets to close on 26th December.

Unions are calling for supermarkets to give their staff Boxing day off as a way of thanking them for their work during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Representatives at Unite, the UK's largest union, have accused supermarkets of putting profits over the wellbeing of their workers by opening on Boxing Day.

The supermarkets themselves have been split on the decision, with Asda and Marks & Spencer agreeing to close on Boxing Day.

Sainsbury's however, will remain open for a limited number of hours, as will Tesco and Morrisons.

Sainsbury's, which remains the only major supermarket in Biddulph amid delays to plans to build an Aldi in the town, says that despite remaining open on Boxing Day, most of its staff will still be able to have the day off.

The Biddulph High Street supermarket will be open from 10am to 5pm on Boxing day, but will have extended opening hours from 6am to midnight on December 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. They will also be open from 7am to 7pm on Christmas Eve.

Its regular opening hours for days not around the Christmas period are 8am to 10pm on Mondays to Saturdays, and 11am to 5pm on Sundays.

Meanwhile, Tesco has said frontline staff will receive an extra 10% bonus over the Christmas and New Year period.

And Morrisons has said that working on Boxing Day would only be voluntary, with staff who choose to do so getting double pay.