Supermarket chain Somerfield blamed the poor summer after suffering a 0.8 per cent like-for-like sales decline in July and August.

Seasonal lines such as ice cream, beer and barbecue products were most affected as sales came up against tough comparisons from last year's heatwave.

Despite the drop, the company said same-store sales from its Somerfield shops still rose 1.3 per cent in the 16 weeks to August 14.

Across the group, which also includes the Kwik Save business, the figure was 1.1 per cent stronger.

Bad weather also affected Kwik Save sales, with a one per cent drop for the last two months.

Thursday September 09, 2004