UK shoppers will spend �9 billion in winter sales, research suggests

Thousands of bargain hunters queued for hours before the shops even opened to get first choice of many reduced items.

Up to 200,000 people packed the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent alone.

A record number of big-name stores - including Next, Debenhams, Dixons and Currys - had thrown open their doors a day earlier on Boxing Day.

Selfridges in Oxford Street reported 130,000 people came through its doors on Friday.

There was hardly any elbow room - I don't know where everybody is getting the money from Spokesman Gyle shopping centre

One man camped outside the Sony Centre in Leeds from Christmas Eve to be first to snap up a Sony camcorder, reduced from �499 to �99.

About 3,500 bargain-hunters were camping out from 0330 GMT at the Trafford Centre, just outside Manchester city centre.

Gareth Thomas, director of retail operations at John Lewis, said there had been queues outside all 26 stores before the company's sales started on Saturday morning.

He said: "We hope to have the biggest weekend ever. We had a very strong run into Christmas itself and the last few days before Christmas were very buoyant.

"A lot of customers have been expecting to find bargains in volume at the moment."

'Manic'

Shopping centres across the country were also experiencing sales fever.

At the Gyle shopping centre on the outskirts of Edinburgh, stores were said to be "jam-packed".

A spokesman said: "There was hardly any elbow room - I don't know where everybody is getting the money from.

"The sales may have started on Friday, but I would definitely say it was busier today."

At Manchester's Arndale Centre, general manager Glen Barkworth described the scenes as "manic" and said the city's 250,000 parking spaces were full by 1030 GMT.

Sales spending 50% spend �50-200 3% up to �400 3% more than �500 Source: Egg banking Your views on sales shopping

And at the Bluewater Centre in Kent 1,000 shoppers had queued from 0100 GMT.

Marketing manager Alan Jones said: "This day last year was our busiest day ever and it looks as if we are going to beat that."

David Southwell, director of communications for the British Retail Consortium, said many stores had reported brisk business.

A spokesman for AA Roadwatch said roads and motorways across the UK were "very busy" and described the volume of traffic as "like a weekday rush hour but all day".

He told BBC News Online: "There may be more serious problems later in the day because, while shoppers all turn up at different times, they seem to leave at the same time."

'Financial hangover'

Research suggests shoppers in the UK plan to spend �9 billion in the sales this winter.

The research from Internet bank Egg found that just over half of people planned to spend between �50 and �200, while 3% would spend up to �400 and the same percentage would spend more than �500.

Almost four out of five people questioned (79%) planned to buy something new to wear, while 44% were looking to buy household goods and 31% hoped to get an electrical item.

But they were warned not to be tempted to buy things they could not afford.