One of the biggest toy shops in Leeds is closed today and this is why

Christmas Eve is usually a hectic day of shopping with customers making sure they have those last-minute presents all sorted. Many high-street shops even extend their opening hours to give everyone the chance to buy that final gift.

These additional opening hours bring in a fortune for businesses but The Entertainer will not be opening any of their stores today.

And the reason? To give its staff a break. And a message on its website reads: "Our stores are closed on Christmas Eve this year. Please collect all orders by Saturday 23rd December."

The Mail on Sunday has reported that selfless shopkeeper Gary Grant is a devout Christian and refuses to open on Sundays. He believes that it is more important to give his 1,700 staff Sundays off to strengthen their family life, even though it could cost his company more than £2 million in sales.

The Entertainer is one of the country's largest independent toy stores with 149 branches including one in The Trinity Shopping Centre in Leeds and in The White Rose Shopping Centre.

Mr Grant told The Mail on Sunday: "I have given the concept of one day in seven as a day of rest a lot of thought and I am not making an exception just because it is Christmas Eve. "I value families. I have four children and six grandchildren. I employ a lot of parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties. It is convenient that everybody has the same day off, that parents can be off at the same time as their children."