Thousands of bargain hunters caused traffic chaos as they queued for a sale at a newly refurbished electrical store yesterday.

In an attempt to beat the credit crunch, up to 3,000 shoppers descended on Currys Megastore in Wednesbury, West Midlands, forcing the Highways Agency to close a motorway junction slip road.

Police were also called to deal with the crowds gathering at the store in Axeltree Way from 5.30am. Many shoppers had camped outside the store from the night before to get their hands on offers such as satellite navigation systems for £19.99 and 40in televisions for £275.99.

West Midlands Police confirmed that exit slip roads at Junction 9 of the M6 had to be closed temporarily.

Jon Fisher, the store director, said: “I have worked in retail for 20 years and in all that time have never seen such a positive reaction from the public. We had similar deals running at this store when it first opened eight years ago but this has been unprecedented. We’ve had people queuing all through the night.”

A police spokesman said: “Police were called following reports of disorder among those queuing at around 5.25am . . . no disorder was found. However, due to around 2,500 to 3,000 people gathering in the area, officers put crowd control measures in place to assist with public safety.”

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• A vicar’s wife: ‘There is no one to fight for us’
• Every little helps at the supermarket
• Ugg or Fitflop? The battle of the boots