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Asda Police Tesco

Black Friday riots see police fend off stampeding shoppers

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

November 29, 2014 | 3 min read

Police forces around the UK were called out to repress almost routine violence and disorder in retailers during the Black Friday shopping boom

Fights broke out in retailers across the UK

The shopping event saw major retailers across the country hit with massive queues before stores opened before ushering in a stampede of savvy consumers.

In Greater Manchester alone police attended seven Tesco stores where altercations arose from those seeking the best deals. Three men were arrested and a woman was hit by a flying TV.

There were further instances of violence in Cardiff, Glasgow, Dundee and London - some of which was recorded on Vine.

In Middleton, 200 consumers refused to leave a Tesco store despite the building being emptied of product. In Salford, a man was arrested for threatening to "smash" in a staff member’s face.

A Tesco Extra in Glasgow was shut by police to “ensure crowd safety” after riots broke out. Furthermore, a Bristol man was arrested in Asda after he reacted badly to staff telling him he couldn’t buy two discounted TVs.

Sir Peter Fahy, chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, dubbed the disorder as “totally predictable” on Twitter, he said: “I am disappointed that stores did not have sufficient security staff on duty.

“Across Greater Manchester large supermarkets already make significant demands on policing through calls to shoplifting, anti-social behaviour and thefts of fuel from their petrol stations - much of which is preventable.

“This created situations where we had to deal with crushing, disorder and disputes between customers. It does not help that this was in the early hours, when police resources are already stretched.”

Jon Copestake, retail analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told the Guardian that the bargain boom will hit December Christmas sales: “From a retail perspective the frenzy of interest has mixed implications.

"Take-up on sales today is likely to undermine the potential for purchases later in the Christmas shopping period. The waiting times and overloading of stores is also unlikely to be good for the reputations of the retailers involved."

Black Friday originated in the US as a discount period during Thanksgiving but has saw itself exported to the UK - along with ‘Cyber Monday”.

Visa estimates that Friday's event was the biggest ever retail day in the UK with shoppers estimated to have spent £518m online.

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