FRESH snowfalls could bring Christmas misery to the North-East as it is feared gifts bought online may not reach their destinations.

Nationwide, a backlog of about four million parcels has developed as private carriers struggle to overcome delays caused by the snow and ice.

And with the predicted second big freeze about to grip Britain, it will only get worse, experts said.

The news came as MPs were told rocketing oil prices and restricted deliveries could also mean thousands of homes going without heating this winter.

The Government admitted the situation could become very serious if it snows again. Many homes may have to wait for as long as four weeks for oil to be delivered. In the past month alone, prices jumped from less than 40p a litre to more than 70p in some cases, amid allegations oil companies were fixing their prices.

The Office of Fair Trading will look for any cases of price-fixing, Energy Minister Charles Hendry told the Commons.

Parcel and carrier management company Global Freight Solutions said it could be the first year in which depots and offices did not clear all their gifts.

“This year in Scotland and the North-East, it is likely (some items will not be delivered),” said company director Simon Veale.

Dealing with the backlog was like “bailing water out of a sinking ship”.

Mr Veale went on: “There are likely to be more than four million new parcels in the system every day this week on top of several million more, which still had to be cleared from the recent extreme weather.

“No one in the industry likes the prospect of not making collections or deliveries and everyone’s working around the clock to do what they can to ensure that items arrive on time, but the reality is that some will not.

“We are being told by certain of our carrier partners that things are so severe in Scotland that they are running out of trailers in the rest of the country, impacting on deliveries in England and Wales.”

“If there are additional falls of snow, as the weather forecasts are suggesting, the unhappy situation will be compounded further still.”

Carriers began restricting the number of nonurgent packages they will deliver to try to ensure essential items reach their destinations on time, he said.

The Royal Mail delivered 7,000 rounds on Sunday to about a million addresses.

Managing director Mark Higson said: “This is already the worst December weather the UK has seen for almost 30 years.”