Dec 16 - The expected return of severe winter weather to Britain in the coming days could plunge retailers into the red over their peak Christmas trading period, according to market research published on Thursday.

A survey by GfK NOP found 30 percent of all festive shopping in Britain is done in the two weeks before Christmas.

That could spell trouble for store groups, despite a survey on Wednesday which showed British retail sales rising at their fastest pace since 2002.

"Most Christmas shoppers are creatures of habit -- going to the same places at the same time year after year, which normally leads to hordes of people buying all their presents in the last two weeks before Christmas," GfK NOP said.

"These people will find it difficult to get to their usual haunts if we have another bout of bad weather, and with out-of-town and internet purchasing unavailable to them due to restrictions on transport and delivery times, we may see total retail spending fall this Christmas.

"Remove this vital spending from the economy and you could see retailers plunging into the red, rather than using a festive boost to prop up the year's sales."

Retailers across northern Europe are braced for another blast of sub-zero temperatures after snow and ice disrupted travel and hit business earlier this month.

HMV Group, Kesa Electricals, Carpetright and Travis Perkins are among the British retailers to have voiced concerns in recent days about a prolonged cold snap, while France's Auchan told Reuters on Wednesday bad weather was disrupting trade.

A separate survey by market research group ORB showed British store groups taking a cautious stance on inventories.

It found 29 percent of retailers would rather risk running out of supplies this Christmas than having excess stock on their hands.

(Reporting by Mark Potter; Editing by David Holmes)