POOR weather was yesterday blamed for a dip in profits for Dobbies Garden Centres.

The plc, which has outlets near Chester-le-Street, at Birtley, and in Ponteland, near Newcastle, announced its interim results for the six months to April 30.

It revealed that sales rose 16.7 per cent to £27.3m, with like-for-like revenues up 1.5 per cent. But pre-tax profit dropped 8.8 per cent to £1.7m, after costs rose by 25.7 per cent to £11.4m.

Chairman, Alex Hammond-Chambers said: "The first half of this current year has not been easy; the weather has been unseasonably cold - particularly in Scotland where two thirds of our sales are generated."