THOUSANDS of bargain hunters have packed Worcester's streets for the post-Christmas sales, leaving retailers raking in the profits after a slow start.

Shoppers queued across the High Street yesterday to cash in on the first few hours of the sales.

The Next store saw its usual rush for goods first thing and queues formed outside as staff eventually started a one-person-out one-person-in system.

CrownGate giant Beatties saw "fantastic" trade last week with sales up by 34 per cent on last year's business.

Keith Harmer, Beatties' general manager, said retailers had the added benefit of Saturday's trade this year, as Christmas Day fell on a Monday.

Shunned

"We were very pleased with the week's sales," he said. "It had been quiet during the floods but trade soon picked up again.

"The sale started extremely well yesterday. There was a huge queue outside at 10am. We just hope it continues."

Earlier this month traders urged shoppers not to stop visiting the city centre during the bout of floods.

Many said they were watching their Christmas trade float away with floodwater as hundreds of shoppers shunned the city for alternative shopping centres.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire's Chamber of Commerce said November's flooding was bad enough for traders but December's worsened the problem.

Adrian Lowe, general manager of Marks & Spencer, said the two High Street stores opened their doors at 7.30am yesterday to accommodate more shoppers.

"We decided to do this because there's always pressure on the first day of the sale," he said. "We've been very successful.

Delighted

"We had a very good Christmas week which saw our store perform highly compared to other Marks & Spencer stores our size.

"We were delighted with trade last Saturday and Sunday. Our food business has been extremely successful."