This is where stock, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, will be piled up rather than on the shelves of Woolies in the run-up to Christmas.

Instead of being snapped up by festive shoppers, the goods are now destined for storage houses in the Black Country following the collapse of troubled retailer Woolworths.

Storage King, which has depots in Dudley and West Bromwich, has been inundated with callers from anxious suppliers for the High Street chain left with too much stock on their hands. The goods, which include housewares, had been ordered by the struggling chain but with its future uncertain after it went into administration last week they are no longer needed.

Now the unwanted stock will end up lying in storage depots until another buyer for the goods can be found.

In one case stock valued at £300,000 is being shipped from the Middle East ordered by one Black Country supplier and will end up in a Storage King warehouse in Dudley.

Storage King chief executive Dave Betts said: “We received a request from one local company, who have 400 pallets of housewares, valued at £300,000, destined for Woolworths, but is no longer required .”

Meanwhile hundreds of shoppers swarmed the aisles of Woolworths yesterday as it held its ‘biggest ever’ sale. Up to 50 per cent was slashed off.