FESTIVE shoppers were showing no signs of credit crunch frugality in Ryedale with many traders reporting no decline in business compared with last year.

David Wakeley, owner of Massers camera shop on Wheelgate in Malton, said: “We opened on Sunday at the weekend and we are glad we did.

“It was a cracking weekend and the rest of the week was absolutely brilliant as well.

“The rush on cameras is cooling off a bit for the first time since they introduced digital, but people are still buying lots – you wouldn’t know there was a recession.”

Suddaby’s specialist beer and wine shop also reported healthy trade, and Parnaby’s saddlers was brimming with customers.

Audrey Henderson at B Leefe and Sons jewellers in Malton said: “We are on track to do as well as we did last year. Last weekend we had shoppers who had come to Malton from as far away as Hull or the other side of York.

“Although we have been reading about the credit crunch, I’ve also read that smaller jewellers are doing better than the chains at the moment, so we’ve been feeling quite confident this Christmas.”

Traders at other towns in Ryedale were also enjoying a healthy amount of business.

Sue Holt at the Nice Things Gift Shop in Helmsley, said: “Things are going well, it’s about the same as last year. We sell gifts and decorations, which are of course suited to this time of year. I think our displays of outdoor children’s items, such as matching wellies and raincoats, help to attract customers.”

Alex Yates, sales assistant at Puffers Model Shop in Pickering, said: “We’ve been very busy, definitely up on last year by quite a bit. Models make good Christmas presents for children.”

Staff at Pickering Book Shop said they were selling lots of books, the biography of Barack Obama, and Beedle the Bard by J K Rowling.

Dennis Townsend, chairman of Malton and Norton Business in Action, said: “I’ve spoken to Hoppers Newsagents, Linton pet shop and Malton Relish, and they say they have had good pre-Christmas sales.

“It’s difficult to compare, but generally I would say trade is better than last year. We’ve got a pleasant shopping environment, and we sell what people want to buy.

“In my experience in Ryedale over the past 20 years, the economy in Malton and Norton is nothing like as extreme as the national trends. We don’t get the massive overspends, but as this weekend shows, we don’t get the massive depressions either.”