SHOPPERS in Bluewater may find themselves queuing up behind travellers from the continent this Christmas.

Bargain hunters from the Euro-zone are said to be coming to shop in the UK because of the weakness of the pound.

According to research by a foreign currency provider, a visitor from Paris or Rome could save £34 by buying an iPod Classic here rather than in their home countries.

Other savings include a women’s Gucci watch which costs around £850 in Paris but only £685 in this country.

Stephen Alambritis, from the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “There will be some great offers for shoppers in the coming weeks as retailers pull out all the stops to attract customers - and the savings for visitors from the Continent will be even greater because the euro is so strong at the moment.”

Figures released by the National Air Traffic Service last week showed that the number of flights between the UK and the USA in October was 10 per cent less than in the same month in 2007.

But the foreign currency provider Currencies Direct says that Eurostar has seen a record number of passengers crossing the Channel in recent months.

Apparently this figure includes large numbers of passengers using the Ebbsfleet International station, which is near the Bluewater shopping centre in Greenhithe.