High street retailer Boots reported a cooling in sales growth today after disappointing summer weather stalled demand for suncare products.

The group said like-for-like sales at Boots The Chemists grew by 3.3% over the last three months, down from the 4.4% seen in the previous quarter.

Margins were also lower as customers warmed to the company's Lower Prices You'll Love promotion and bought fewer higher margin seasonal products.

Chief executive Richard Baker described the performance as "encouraging" and said the company had made "substantial progress" during the first half - a period in which like-for-like sales grew by 3.8%.

Progress for the full financial year will now hinge on the Christmas period, when Boots will recruit an additional 4,500 workers and invite head office workers to help out on the shop floor.

Last year, more than 2,500 non-retail staff took up the opportunity to work in the group's 1,400 stores.

The company's fortunes have shown signs of improvement over the last year after a 2.7% rise in annual profits and a healthier sales trend in the wake of initiatives aimed at tackling greater competition from supermarkets.

The strongest performance in today's trading update came from the healthcare division after total sales lifted by 5.5% on the back of dispensing work and demand for products such as vitamins and supplements.

Sales in the beauty and toiletries section grew by 4.4%, although the division suffered from lower demand for suncare products in July and August.

Food sales rose 5% and babycare ranges were up 7% on a year earlier, but Boots said the growth was offset by a continuing decline in photo sales.

Across the group, which also includes the Nurofen-to-Strepsils division Healthcare International, Boots said sales in its second quarter rose 2% - against 3% for the wider half-year trading period.

The extra 4,500 staff sought by Boots include 800 posts in the Midlands, 800 in London and the South East, 600 in the North West and 500 in the North East.

Last year, Boots said it received 60,000 applications for temporary Christmas positions.