With Christmas just around the corner, shops are packed with people buying last-minute gifts and stocking up on all of their favourite treats to indulge in over the festive period.

The high streets will take a well-deserved rest from the trampling of feet and become filled with an eerie silence on Christmas Day, as people head to spend time with their loved ones.

But this period of rest will be short-lived, as on Boxing Day, people will take to the shops once again to grab a bargain in the sales.

But often forgotten are the people behind the scenes, putting the stock on the shelves, pricing the sale items and serving at the till – shop workers.

A wave of petitions against shops being open on Boxing Day have swept across social media, sparking huge debate around the subject.

One petition, set up on website change.org by a man named Ian Lapworth, demands that shops should be forced to close on Boxing Day.

He said: “Shops, especially supermarkets, do not need to open on Boxing Day. Whilst not everyone may see Christmas as a religious holiday, it should be respected as such, and retail workers (who work so hard on the run up to the big day) given some decent family time to relax and enjoy the festivities like everyone else.

“Most retail workers are on the go up to Christmas Eve, then back on Boxing Day. Sometimes they have no choice.”

This petition gathered over 230,000 supporters, while another on the Government website gathered over 140,000 signatures – passing the 100,000 requirement for parliament to consider holding a debate.

Many of Hexham’s independent retailers will remain closed on Boxing Day.

Roya Manouchehri, owner of children’s clothing shop Ralph and Mimi in Hexham, said: “Christmas is a family time really, but I also don’t think we’d be that busy on Boxing Day – I imagine more people head to town or the Metrocentre for sales.

“People are buying things up until Christmas, so people in shops are busy. It’s nice for them to have a break too, just for a couple of days.”

Moira Briddock, owner of the Sorella gift shop, agreed, adding: “I think most of the independent shops will be closed, as really I can’t see many people coming to Hexham on Boxing Day. They will go to the big stores for the sales.”

But a surprising number of Hexham’s national chains will open their doors on the morning of the 26th, with the likes of Tesco, Argos, Next, White Stuff and Fat Face taking part in Boxing Day sales.

Fat Face manager Shona McLean said no one will stay behind after 6.30pm on Christmas Eve, while the rotas will be worked to give everyone a fair amount of time off so they can still enjoy Christmas as best they can.

But campaigners argue that as well as being unable to enjoy their Christmas due to the hours they have to work, shopworkers are sometimes faced with upsetting behaviour over the Christmas period.

A spokesman for the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) said: “A recent Usdaw survey showed that every minute of the working day another shopworker is verbally abused, threatened with violence or physically attacked.

“Shopworkers tell us that incidents are more frequent throughout the Christmas and New Year period when shops are busier; customers can be stressed and are more likely to take out their frustration on staff.

“Talking to our members who work in retail, I know that verbal abuse cuts deep. Many will go home after a shift upset about an unpleasant incident that took place at work.”

The petitions were debated by MPs on Monday, December 12, after which it was decided that the Government would not intervene.

Responding to the petition, a statement from the Government reads: “We do not believe it is for central Government to tell businesses how to run their shops or how best to serve their customers.

“Therefore we are not proposing to ban shops from opening on Boxing Day.”

While Hexham might not see the mad rush of shoppers that Newcastle and the Metrocentre will, the emergence of more and more shops choosing to open on Boxing Day shows it is becoming the norm – as once happened with shops opening on Sundays.

And after the Government’s response, it seems it’s now up to retailers themselves to decide whether to give their staff an extra day to enjoy time with their families.