With predictions suggesting that it will enjoy an even more successful festive season than in 2011, Amazon is gearing up to handle the projected demand for its packing and postal services by hiring more than 10,000 staff for its fulfilment centres in the UK.

At its peak last year, Amazon shipped 2.1 million packages in 24 hours around the country, and three million orders were placed.

The company's director of operations, Catherine McDermott, told the Daily Telegraph that Amazon was looking forward to bringing in many new people to help it cope with this surge in demand, and would also be bringing back many others who had become regular seasonal workers.

In many cases, a spell of temporary work with Amazon leads to a permanent job: “We are a company in growth and when we have permanent positions to fill, it’s the top performing temporary employees we look to,” Ms McDermott said.

Amazon has eight fulfilment centres across Wales, Scotland, the Midlands and the Home Counties, with three more in the pipeline.