Shoppers in sales rush

Bargain hunters have hit the region's stores as the traditional post-Christmas sales got under way.

Beatties in Wolverhampton opened for the first Boxing Day in its 130-year history and while the move has sparked outrage among staff, eager shoppers queued along Victoria Street ready for the grand opening at 9.30am.

Elsewhere, crowds queued outside Debenhams at the Merry Hill Centre in Brierley Hill, well before the shop opened its doors at 8am and car parks surrounding the site were filling up less than an hour later.

Lindsey Holmes, aged 33, set out for Merry Hill from her Brierley Hill home at 7.30am and waited for almost half an hour before Debenhams opened.

She said: "I do it just for the bargains because almost everything is half price."

Mother-of-one Martina Toolan, 39, saved some money on Christmas presents so she could splurge in the sales and travelled from Bearwood early today.

She said: "After spending all day yesterday over a hot stove I thought 'This is my time.' This is the ladies day."

Many stores remained closed, however, and the centre's bosses say they expect trade to be much busier tomorrow when Next will open at 5am and Marks & Spencer an hour later.

Next on St John's retail park in Wolverhampton will also open at 5am tomorrow while the store on the city's Dudley Street will open at 6am, with retail bosses predicting huge queues.

Stafford's Guildhall shopping centre will open tomorrow at 9am and traders at Walsall's Crown Wharf complex are also bracing themselves for a busy day.

In Kidderminster, sales in the town started early this year with Sainsbury's on the Crossley Retail Park reducing clothing and electrical lines.