THOUSANDS more shoppers took to the streets of York to grab bank holiday bargains as the final sales of the year continued.

Although many retailers reported good sales figures on Boxing Day, some stores chose to remain closed and start their own sales today, so as not to be curbed by Sunday trading laws.

Browns and Marks & Spencer’s were just two of the stores opening for the first time since Christmas Eve, and Karen Dhir, buying controller at Brown’s department store in St Sampson’s Square, said their sale got off to a good start: “We had quite a nice queue outside this morning, lots of people waiting to get in.

“We’re showing good growth against last year, and checked the figures just before lunchtime and we are delighted with the results.

“We lost quite a lot of business due to the snow, but we had a great week last week, and managed to pull a lot of business back since then. Menswear and fashion accessories have been the biggest sellers so far.”

Marks & Spencer’s, which was also closed on Boxing Day, predicted the store would be so busy that the retailer took pre-emptive action to try and avoid lengthy queues by closing changing rooms on Monday and Tuesday.

The action may have helped, but the lure of up to 50 per cent discount meant that at several points this morning, shoppers were also told to take their clothing to the food section of the shop, to help ease queuing.

Retailers across the region hoped that the chance to buy goods at a discount price before the VAT rises from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent on January 4 would lead to record sales figures following a disappointing run up to Christmas, with more shoppers choosing to stay at home than brave the Arctic weather.