SHOPPERS in Swindon looking for that perfect Christmas gift have been searching for Elf on the Shelf more than other present-buyers in most of the UK.

The town racked up so many searches for the popular toy that it placed seventh-highest in a list of British towns and cities researching it online.

Swindon soared above every other town and city in the south-west of England, all of Wales and all of Scotland in the rankings.

Traditional features of Christmas like the Queen's Speech and Santa Claus are popping up less often in online searches than more modern additions to the festive season, like the mischievous little elf.

The innocent-looking creature sits on a shelf to keep watch over children during the day to see if they're being naughty or nice before reporting back to Santa at night.

It's become quite a phenomenon in America and it has been made available in the UK this year for the first time.

It seems that Swindonians are keen to be part of the craze and bring one of Santa's little helpers to their homes this Christmas.

Google Trends data indicated that some of the more popular searches for the toy involved 'naughty ideas; and 'funny memes' as creative parents tried to think of all sorts of inventive ways to position the Elf and share photos of their humorous displays online.