WHILE Christmas decorations are being taken down and people are still recovering from New Year hangovers, retailers are already selling Easter chocolate.

Although Easter Sunday is not until April 20, stores across Bolton are eager to get ahead.

Boots added Easter products such as Cadbury Creme Eggs and chocolate bunnies to its shelves on New Year’s Eve, while mini chocolate eggs are available in Marks and Spencer. Other stores soon to follow suit include Morrisons and Asda.

The move has come under fire from Bolton shoppers, who suggested it was too soon to be thinking about Easter.

A Marks and Spencer spokesman said: “We’ve a very small selection of Easter-themed chocolates such as mini chocolate eggs and bunnies in stores as we know that some of our customers like to buy these early. Our full Easter range won’t go into stores until after Mother’s Day in March.”

A Boots spokesman added: “At Boots UK, our customers are at the heart of everything we do and we know that some like to buy an early Easter treat as we often see a peak in sales of Easter snacking products in January, as well as in the weeks running up to Easter.

“Boots UK has launched Easter products on to shelves on December 31, in line with the rest of the market and our activity in previous years, so that we offer the choice our customers are looking for.”