Trade at the ports of Southampton and London Gateway soared during the eight-day strike at Felixstowe, according to data compiled by supply chain experts.

Consultants Project 44 found containers going through Southampton and London Gateway was up by nine per cent.

Before the eight day strike at the Port of Felixstowe, owned by Chinese company Hutchison Ports, the dockers were handling 39,000 containers a day, while Southampton was dealing with 32,000 and London Gateway 20,000.

Towards the end of last week's strike, Southampton was handling 58,000 containers and London Gateway more than doubled to 42,000.

Project 44 warned that as this strike by Unite Union members had been flagged well in advance, companies had been able to make alternative arrangements, however further strike action could cause massive delays in the supply chain, with many goods ordered for Christmas likely to be affected

The consultants warned other container ships could be diverted to other UK ports and also to European destinations such as Rotterdam, which are already at full capacity.