Ikea moved to meet the demand of its Irish buyers, announcing a home delivery service by cross-sea ferry.

For a fee, from £80 to Northern Ireland and £100 to Eire, customers will have larger goods transported to their doorsteps.

With no Ikea of their own, Irish customers have been making the pilgrimage to Ikea's Braehead store since it opened last year.

Dubbed the Ikea trail, 14,000 trippers from across the Irish Sea are expected to visit the UK's largest Ikea store this year. Managers have reported as many as 13 coaches from Ireland arriving in one day.