SHOP tills are doing overtime in Waltham Forest as the Christmas shopping frenzy gathers pace.

Sales of toys, turkeys, crackers and wrapping are booming as residents rush to complete their shopping.

Harry Potter mania is continuing to grip toy shops, with Woolworths branches in Chingford and Walthamstow already sold out of this year's must-have Hogwarts Castle.

A Woolworths spokeswoman said: "The problem was that Lego didn't manufacture enough of the castles and they sold out in no time.

"However, we do still have a limited stock of other Harry Potter items such as Professor Snape's Potion Class chemistry sets and Harry's Levitating Challenge, which are both doing well."

Other best-sellers are Bob the Builder, WWF (World Wrestling Federation) Immortal Champions play figures, and popular television board games such as the Weakest Link and Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

Busy stocking his shelves to keep up with demand for Christmas turkeys is Andrew Shaw of Choice Cuts in Station Road, Chingford.

The busy butcher said: "Sales are really picking up now, but things are still hard for local butchers. The supermarkets have really taken away the trade from the little independent shops.

"We are selling a lot of free range turkeys this year because shoppers are more concerned about the conditions of battery birds.

"The birds are on average £10 to £15 dearer but people are prepared to pay the extra. You can't generally get them from supermarkets because they're from a specialist supplier, which has limited stock."

Mr Shaw added that he was selling smaller quantities of other traditional festive fowl such as goose and duck. Legs of ham were also popular, he said.

Meanwhile, at Tesco in Leyton High Road, customers are piling up their trolleys with yards of Christmas wrapping, crackers, assorted biscuit selection tins and the eternally popular Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

Trading manager Paul Smith said: "Our gift sets and stocking fillers such as fondue sets are also selling well, as are pocket torches, CDs, mobile telephones, videos and DVDs."