Primark chaos as shoppers wait up to 6 HOURS to get inside then face hour-long queue to pay

SHOPPERS spent six hours in queues to get into chaotic Primark stores today - before an hour-long wait to pay.

Eager people keen for a bargain lined up from midnight to get into shops, as the retail giant throws open its doors 24 hours-a-day.

⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates

Shoppers complained of being in the queue to pay for over half an hour and barely moving, before finding out there were just two people on the tills.

And another person who braved the Trafford Centre Primark tweeted they had been in line for an hour and 20 minutes.

In Newcastle bargain-hunters had waited in a six hour queue to get straight in at midnight.

A stunned witness said: "Can't believe what I am seeing at 1am on Facebook live... People standing in three hour queues to get into the metro Primark."

Another wrote: "In Newcastle there is people waiting in a six hour queue at 12.30am to shop in Primark.... The shop is also open literally all day tomorrow."

The huge rush and long queues are likely because the store doesn't have an online site where customers can buy products.

It comes after the retail giant picked 11 stores across the country to remain open all day and night after a month of national restrictions that kept non-essential shops closed.

Eager shoppers waited patiently in huge snaking queues last night to ensure they could grab a Christmas bargain in the 24 hour stores.

Pictures and videos posted on social media showed shoppers queuing in the early hours of Thursday morning as they attempted to take advantage of the opportunity.

Student Katie Eames, who went to the White Rose branch in Leeds, said: "We decided we would just go at midnight because we thought it's never going to happen again that you can go at midnight to Primark."

The 24-year-old arrived at the store at around midnight and queued for about an hour to get in.

Hordes of people were seen braving the cold as they queued outside Primark Lakeside in West Thurrock, desperate to work through their Christmas shopping lists.

All other Primark stores will trade until at least 8pm on weekdays right up to Christmas Eve.

Yesterday, dubbed 'Wild Wednesday', shoppers queued in the dark from 5am for the first chance of Christmas shopping in other high street stores.

Primark CEO, Paul Marchant, said: “We are delighted to re-open our stores in England, with longer shopping hours to give our customers more time to safely do their festive shopping.

“All of our extensive safety measures remain in place to help ensure shopping at Primark is an enjoyable, safe experience for everyone. I would like to take this opportunity to say a heart-felt thank you to the NHS and all keyworkers.”

On Wednesday shoppers splashed out a whopping £2.8million a minute.

Queues started building up in the early hours outside Debenhams — holding a closing down sale — and outlets including Primark and JD Sports.

Many customers were cheered by price cuts as shops cleared stock or extended Black Friday discounts.

Footfall was up 65 per cent compared with a week ago across High Streets, retail parks and shopping centres, according to data experts Springboard.

It comes amid a high street bloodbath, with the jobs of around 25,000 staff at Arcadia and Debenhams hanging in the balance.

Debenhams, which is shutting all 124 stores, were selling an £89 blue Multiway maxi dress for £15, with an Alexandre of England suit down from £132 to £25, and a Moda In Pelle black Wynona high wedge heel sandals down from £80 to £16.

One shop worker was at Lakeside in Grays, Essex, early this morning and was told by managers to expect large crowds.

He said: “There were people here at 6am to go into Primark, they all came out holding bags.

"It’s definitely not as busy as it was last time that lockdown was lifted.”