senior police officer has hit out at supermarkets for failing to have adequate security in the run-up to the Black Friday sales, after scenes of chaos broke out across UK stores as bargain-hunters desperately tried to get their hands on cut-price items.
Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police Sir Peter Fahy said the mayhem which broke out overnight were 'totally predictable' but that stores did not have enough staff on duty in the run-up to the manic sales.
Videos and pictures have emerged today showing shoppers fighting in stores and clambering over each other amid scenes of mayhem, while one store had to be closed just 36 minutes after opening due to fighting between customers.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assault in the Tesco store in Salford after allegedly telling a staff member that he would 'smash their face in', while another woman was injured by a falling TV/
Sir Peter said: 'The events of last night were totally predictable and I am disappointed that stores did not have sufficient security staff on duty.
'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.'
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In shocking scenes, a woman desperately clung to a TV after a brawl broke out at the Asda store in Wembley over the cut-price item
The woman competed with other shoppers to try and get her hands on the last Polaroid TV in the store, which had just £80 knocked off the original price
A staff member was forced to intervene as the customer fell to her knees in a desperate attempt to claim the TV, which was reduced form £219 to £139
The shoppers were seen pushing and fighting one another on the shop floor as they tried to get their hands on the reduced item
Crowds surged through the store as they battled to purchase one of the Polaroid 40inch HD TVs which is now out of stock across Asda stores
A man is one of the first shoppers through the door at Asda in Wembley where crowds turned on each other to fight over TVs and gadgets
Hundreds of people push through the doors of Asda in Wembley, north London, this morning in a bid to get their hands on a bargain
Huge crowds swelled through the Tesco store in Edmonton, one of the four London stores to where police had to be called over Black Friday mayhem
Chaos erupted at another Asda store in north London where hundreds pushed over each other to get their hands on discounted goods
Men clamber over one another as determined shoppers push their way to through Asda in north London. Despite disruption across stores throughout the capital, Metropolitan Police made no arrests in relation to Black Friday sales overnight
In Tesco stores up and down the country, desperate shoppers were seen scrapping as they tried to get their hands on what appeared to be one of Tesco's best-selling market items - a Blaupunkt HD TV, which had just £60 off the original price.
At an Asda store in Wembley, shocking pictures emerged showing a woman clinging to a Polaroid TV which had been reduced by just £80, as a shop worker attempted to prise her from the box.
Greater Manchester Police were called to seven stores overnight, including the Tesco Extra store in Stretford which had to be closed because of the level of fighting.
The force said two people were arrested at Black Friday sales events, before writing on its Twitter page: 'Keep calm people.'
He added: '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.
'We just ask these stores to work with us to reduce the demands on policing and reduce the risks of disorder and crime.'
Another 42-year-old man was arrested over an alleged assault at the store in Tesco, Burnage, while two men were kicked out of a store in Central Park, Wigan.
Hundreds of people also refused to leave the store on Barton Road, Middleton, despite staff telling them repeatedly that all stock had been sold. At the store in Stockport Road, Hattersley, another man was arrested for a public order offence.
Shaun Thompson, 21, described how 'all hell broke lose' at the Stretford store. He said: 'Tesco had got a queueing system in place at about 11pm but that fell down pretty quickly.
'It was getting more heated by the minute and the next thing, at about ten to midnight, voices got raised. The shouting went through the roof, then all hell broke loose. They were ripping the plastic off the palettes and people started fighting.
'One girl, who can't have been more than 16, picked up some advent calendars and flung them across the shop. I saw a member of staff leaving with a black eye. It was something I would never like to experience again.'
Scotland Yard confirmed officers had been called to at least four stores in London, including in Willesden, Surrey Quays, Edmonton and Edgware, following frantic reports of crowd surges and scuffles.
Shoppers flocked to stores across Britain just after midnight to snap up Black Friday bargains, including heavily-discounted flat screen TVs
There were chaotic scenes in supermarkets up and down the country including at a Tesco store in Baguely, Wythenshawe, Manchester
There were lengthy queues outside Tesco in Bolton just before the Black Friday started at midnight (left) before scrambling commenced (right)
Tesco Extra in Kingston Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, was packed full of shoppers clambering to snap up bargains just after midnight
Several customers in Kingston Park Tesco in Newcastle upon Tyne hit the store in the early hours to get their hands on cut-price products
In a Tesco store in Great Yarmouth, shoppers could be seen tearing open a box of cut-price LED TVs before rushing off to the till to buy them
Several Tesco Extra stores were full of customers after opening at one minute past midnight, including this store in Norwich, Norfolk
Video footage taken inside a Tesco store in Lea Valley, London, showed customers scrambling to get to the shelves as the sales launched
Pushing and shoving appeared be the order of the day as shoppers in the London supermarket barged each other out of the way to get deals
Police were called to the Tesco superstore in Stretford, Greater Manchester, before reports of the supermarket being forced to close early
The Black Friday phenomenon has spread to the UK in recent years after becoming a big hit in the U.S., where traditionally big sales occur on the first Friday after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Today is expected to be the UK's biggest day of spending this year, with the majority of stores – both online and in the high street – heavily discounting an array of goods.
Major fashion chains such as Topshop, Urban Outfitters, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser and Debenhams are promising deals of between 50 and 70 per cent off, while supermarket giants including Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's will battle it out with cut-price technological goods, toys and home furnishings.
There were scenes of chaos in several supermarkets up and down the country in the early hours of this morning, after shoppers queued outside for several hours before descending on the stores when they opened just after midnight.
Several large Tesco stores across Britain opened at one minute past midnight to catch early bird shoppers, while Sainsbury's started its sale at 1am in its 24-hour stores.
In one Tesco store in Glasgow, shoppers could be seen physically pushing each other out of the way and shouting at one another as they frantically tried to get their hands on slashed-price technology goods.
There were reports that the Tesco Extra store was forced to temporarily close due to the chaos.
Craig Lin wrote on Twitter: 'If your (sic) going to Tesco Silverburn, don't bother. Police have shut it down due to fighting over sales.'
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