J Sainsbury has reported record sales over the key Christmas period, claiming a record breaking £16m worth of sales in one hour on 23 December, and over £100m sales on Christmas Eve.

The UK's second-largest supermarket chain said in the week before Christmas was its strongest on record, with customer transactions exceeding 27 million during those seven days.

In a trading update the company stated its like-for-like sales grew by 1.5 per cent in the 14 weeks ending on 5 January compared to a year earlier, whilst online sales advanced more than 15 per cent.

Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King said that despite such impressive sales, the company remained cautious about the future.

He said,

"We expect the challenging economic backdrop to persist, with customers looking to re-balance their household budget after the festivities, and so spending cautiously in the first few months of 2013."

The trading update comes two days after rival Morrisons reported a drop in sales over the Christmas period. Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, will release its Christmas sales data on Thursday.

Written and presented by Alfred Joyner