Shropshire shoppers out to snap up a Boxing Day bargain

Officials at Shrewsbury's Pride Hill, Darwin and Riverside centres and Telford Shopping Centre said they were today welcoming crowds of people through the doors.

It comes after sales were boosted by a last minute pre-Christmas rush by shoppers that helped the shopping centres achieve bumper sales.

Extra staff were put on at Telford Shopping Centre to help cope with the demand.

The post-Christmas sales got under way at 6am when the doors to the Next store in the Pride Hill centre opened for bargain hunters.

By the end of today, 1.3 million people are expected to have visited the Darwin and Pride Hill shopping centres in Shrewsbury over the festive period.

Kevin Lockwood, manager of the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres, said they had seen more than one million people visit during the festive period – 30 per cent more than a normal month.

He said: "It all really started in November with Black Friday and then in December late night shopping started and there was a fantastic lantern parade and the new grotto just added to a wonderful atmosphere."

Chris Jones, centre director at Telford Shopping Centre, said: "We have had another bumper year at the shopping centre, with many shoppers purchasing last minute gifts in the final days before Christmas."

Christian Hughes, womenswear co-ordinator at Next in Shrewsbury town centre, said: "This week has just been crazy. It's gone really well and we've just been non-stop. Nightwear and fragrances have been big sellers for us and our ladies fashions as well.

At HMV in Shrewsbury, Lee Rogers is in charge of the stockroom and has seen brisk business through the month: "Adele's new album has been massive, outselling everything else so lots of people will have got that for Christmas. We've also expanded our vinyl offer and that's worked well too as they make good presents.

At River Island, in the Darwin Shopping Centre, manager Claire Innes said there has been a steady build-up throughout December. She said: "It's been getting busier and busier and we've found that click and collect has worked very well as people often buy something else when they come in."

At Pandora in the Darwin Centre, which had customers regularly queuing out of the door, manager Charlotte Ridgeway said: "We took as much in the first week of December as we usually take in a month."