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| Police called to 'Black Friday' supermarket crowds | Police called to 'Black Friday' supermarket crowds |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Police have been called to four supermarkets in London amid fears of crowd surges as people hunted for bargains on "Black Friday". | Police have been called to four supermarkets in London amid fears of crowd surges as people hunted for bargains on "Black Friday". |
| Originating in the US, the date is fast becoming one of the biggest shopping days of the year in Britain. | Originating in the US, the date is fast becoming one of the biggest shopping days of the year in Britain. |
| Calls were made by both Tesco staff and queuing shoppers as people gathered at the Glover Drive store in Edmonton. | Calls were made by both Tesco staff and queuing shoppers as people gathered at the Glover Drive store in Edmonton. |
| Officers also attended Tesco stores in Willesden and Surrey Quays and an Asda in Edgware at around midnight. | Officers also attended Tesco stores in Willesden and Surrey Quays and an Asda in Edgware at around midnight. |
| There have been reports of large crowds at several supermarkets across the UK. | |
| Black Friday - historically the big sales day in America that follows the Thanksgiving holiday - has been adopted by an increasing number of shops in the UK. | Black Friday - historically the big sales day in America that follows the Thanksgiving holiday - has been adopted by an increasing number of shops in the UK. |
| It was brought over by online store Amazon four years ago after internet shoppers noticed the US got the best deals. | It was brought over by online store Amazon four years ago after internet shoppers noticed the US got the best deals. |
| Police said in a statement: "Officers have worked with store staff to ensure that sale-goers were able to enter and exit the stores safely. | Police said in a statement: "Officers have worked with store staff to ensure that sale-goers were able to enter and exit the stores safely. |
| 70% discounts | 70% discounts |
| "No persons have been injured at any of the locations as a result of the overcrowding." | "No persons have been injured at any of the locations as a result of the overcrowding." |
| The force said no arrests had been made and officers were hoping to "withdraw" from the locations in the early hours of Friday. | The force said no arrests had been made and officers were hoping to "withdraw" from the locations in the early hours of Friday. |
| Elsewhere in the UK shoppers have described chaos as people rushed to buy bargains. | Elsewhere in the UK shoppers have described chaos as people rushed to buy bargains. |
| One person who purchased a coffee machine at a discount price took to social networking site Twitter to voice their delight. | One person who purchased a coffee machine at a discount price took to social networking site Twitter to voice their delight. |
| He tweeted: "After the absolute carnage that is black Friday in a Tesco extra in the North of England, I walked away with a £100 coffee machine for £30." | |
| Tesco has previously said it expects Black Friday to beat Boxing Day sales in 2014 as it prepares discounts of as much as 70%. | Tesco has previously said it expects Black Friday to beat Boxing Day sales in 2014 as it prepares discounts of as much as 70%. |
| Its 24-hour stores began selling a minute after midnight, and extra staff have been laid on in some areas. | Its 24-hour stores began selling a minute after midnight, and extra staff have been laid on in some areas. |
| Are you shopping for a bargain in the Black Friday sales? Did you attend any of the sales overnight? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your experience | |
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