Lidl had its most successful Christmas trading period on record, the supermarket chain said, boosted by a rise of a third in party food sales. Revenue rose almost 7% to more than £1bn over the four weeks to Christmas Eve as customers bought 16 million pigs in blankets and a turkey every second.

Lidl’s Christmas sales in Britain have topped £1bn for the time since it launched in 1994, after the German discounter ramped up its assault on the big supermarkets. Revenue in the four weeks leading up to Christmas Eve surpassed the milestone after 2m more customers visited its 970 stores across the country.

The British arm of German retailer Lidl on Thursday reported a 7% rise in sales over the four-week period before Christmas, with demand for holiday staples such as turkey and pigs in blankets pushing its turnover to a record high.