OFFICE parties, cooking for the family and, perhaps worst of all, Christmas shopping, can all take their toll during the festive period.

With just two weeks to go to Christmas, the pressure is on to have everything ready to make it a perfect festive season.

But the rushing around and over-indulgence can not only lead to people gaining a few inches around the waistline, it could also send their blood pressure through the roof.

So, in a bid to help shoppers check they are in tip-top condition and remind them to take care of themselves, a County Durham superstore has offered customers free blood pressure tests.

Visitors to the new Asda store, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, were able to call into the shop's first aid room where Brenda Carr carried out the readings.

Mrs Carr, who works in Asda's cake department, has been a first aider with the supermarket for 20 years.

Last year, as an unusual fundraising scheme, she completed an ambulance crew course, which trained her how to use equipment such as blood pressure meters.

She said: "Staff raised money last year to help send a colleague's little boy to America for specialist treatment, so I learned to read blood pressure and offered tests in return for donations.

"I thought it was a good idea to offer it in the store to customers, especially at this hectic time of the year.

"Lots of people have been comforted to know they are in good condition, and those who have had high blood pressure will hopefully be encouraged to take better care of themselves or seek medical advice.

"I think it has been convenient for a lot of people to fit it in while they're out shopping, and some don't want to go to the doctor's for a check."

Mrs Carr said she felt that by offering the tests she was making up for missing her calling to be a nurse, the profession of her late mother, Catherine Atkinson, and of her youngest daughter, Penny Munroe