Shoppers were flooding the high street today, braving the freezing weather for the busiest day at the tills this year.

Thousands were being forced to take to the shops despite the snow because of a postal crisis that has led to delays of online deliveries.

Internet stores have begun cancelling hundreds of Christmas orders because the big freeze means items will not make it on time.

That is good news for shopping centres in the West Midlands and Staffordshire, who expect tens of millions of pounds to pass through the tills today for a “super Saturday” before Christmas.

Main roads around the region’s shopping centres were today clear after being gritted overnight and work was also on to make sure car parks were safe.

More than 300,000 shoppers were today expected to pour through the doors of the Bullring in Birmingham.

General manager Tim Walley said he was praying the snow would not return, adding: “December has been very good for us, and in the past two weeks alone we have welcomed more than one million customers.”

The Merry Hill Centre at Brierley Hill was braced for a “very busy weekend”.

Merry Hill and Wolverhampton’s Mander Centre were expecting more than 100,000 people today, and Walsall’s Saddlers Centre expected at least 40,000.

People who have ordered presents online were today warned their gifts may not arrive for the big day.

A backlog of more than four million items has built up at private courier forms and some internet retailers, such as Smyths Toys, have cancelled hundreds of orders. Amazon has kept a first-class deadline of midnight tonight, two days earlier than in previous years.

Other online grocery sites have maintained a final date of Tuesday.

By Business Editor Jim Walsh