The Bargain Hunter: Take advantage of Tesco Direct sale

Tesco Direct recently launched a month-long sale, offering discounts of up to 50 per cent on limited items from various sections on its website.

Some of the best discounts in Tesco's homeware department, where, for instance, a folding armchair is reduced from £100 to £39.99, while a striped rug is down from £95 to £38. The sale is only running online, but there's plenty of time to find your way around the website if you're not a regular, as the discounts are set to run until 8 August.

In-store and online offers from M&S

Marks & Spencer's latest sale kicked off last Wednesday, with up to 50 per cent off items in almost every department. The sale started online and spread to stores later in the week, but as yet there's no end date for the discounts. Head over to MarksandSpencer.com or pop into your nearest store for full details.

Children's toys are going cheap at Argos

Argos has slashed the price of children's toys by as much as 75 per cent in its latest in-store and online sale. Top buys include a Zinc T-Motion scooter reduced from £64.99 to £15.99, and a Transformers Megatron, down from £34.99 to just £8.75. The sale will run as long as stocks last and home delivery for online orders will cost £5.95, although store pick-up is free.

Save money with Laura Ashley

The womenswear and home furnishings retailer Laura Ashley is running a 60 per cent sale, with dresses, skirts and deck shoes available for as little as £20. The sale started with half-price discounts, but an extra 10 per cent reduction was added to sale items on Tuesday. The sale is set to run until 3 August, but could be extended. For those wanting to make their purchases online, home delivery costs £4.50.

j.hall@independent.co.uk