UK shoppers and workers kept home by rail strikes and cold snap, data shows

Office occupancy levels showed fewer workers made it to their desk on Tuesday, when rail strikes kept many working from home, than on Monday, when the cold snap took hold.

Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Train strikes, a cold snap and snowy conditions have kept workers and shoppers from city centres this week, emptying out high streets and office buildings, figures show.

Footfall on Britain’s high streets and at shopping centres plunged on Tuesday morning as consumers stayed at home, according to research by the retail data analysts Springboard.