SHOPPERS in Swindon are feeling loved-up this Valentine’s Day as new research shows they’ll splash out more than £6.2m on gifts, romantic meals and mini-breaks.

A survey of 2,000 people by British Land, co-owners of the Orbital Shopping Park, found that 82 per cent of people in the town will celebrate the most romantic day of the year, with almost half – 46 per cent – planning to treat their loved ones the weekend prior.

With this in mind, Orbital has dubbed the weekend of February 10 and 11 the ‘weekend of wooing’ as retailers and restaurants prepare for a surge in visitors.

Jamie Turner, centre manager at Orbital, said: “Valentine’s Day is a busy time for our retailers as shoppers look to celebrate and treat their loved ones. With almost half of residents likely to be celebrating the weekend prior to Valentine’s Day this year, we’re looking forward to spreading the love and helping people choose the perfect gift.”

But love birds expecting to be woken up with a nice romantic breakfast in bed may be disappointed as just 14 per cent say they’ll be making breakfast in bed this year, with almost a third preferring to put their culinary skills to practice for an evening meal.

When it comes to choosing the perfect Valentine’s gift, it seems Swindonians are hopeless romantics, as traditional presents such as greetings cards, flowers and chocolates remain among the most popular ways to say ‘I love you’.