The rout on the High Street continued today as shares in outdoor retailer Blacks Leisure crashed as it admitted that summer trading had turned out to be a washout.

In July, Blacks had boasted of strong camping sales. But after one of the wettest August's in memory, it said today revenues have dived and the firm will slump to a loss of at least £6.7 million in the first half of its financial year.

That puts the retailer on track for its third straight year of heavy losses, having racked up deficits totalling £23.1 million over the last two years.

Chief executive Neil Gillis had hooked Blacks' prospects to this summer's trend of the "staycation", in which millions of Brits were foregoing expensive European holidays and instead remaining in the UK.

Many of them were said to be investing in some upmarket camping gear for a few weeks of what the chattering classes were calling "glamping" or glamour camping.

However, in a trading statement today for the six months to the end of August, Blacks said that like-for-like sales have slumped 7.7%.

Its Blacks and Millets stores reported like-for-likes down 5.2%.

The last time chief executive Neil Gillis updated investors he had been very bullish about Blacks' prospects, reporting a 6.1% jump in the sale of camping gear in July — a key figure for the company as the peak camping season of July and August accounts for 20% of annual group sales.

Gillis today defended the company's poor performance, insisting that it is in line with sales falls the length of the High Street.

He said, however, that the future of the group's shirt and shorts so-called boardwear fashion outlets, trading as Freespirit, O'Neill and Mambo, is now in doubt.

The like-for-like sales in those stores collapsed by 16.1% in the period.

Asked whether those businesses may now close or be sold off, Gillis replied: "We are looking at every available option."

Blacks' share price fell another 13% today, down 11 ¼p to 78 ¼p, extending its crash to 75% over the last year.