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Black Friday sales at Tesco put 'pressure' on police | |
(about 5 hours later) | |
A senior police officer said he is "disappointed" the force had to use its limited resources to deal with clashes at Tesco caused by Black Friday sales. | |
South Wales Police Deputy Chief Constable Matt Jukes said officers will speak to supermarket managers to try to stop it happening again. | |
Officers were called to four stores in Cardiff, Bridgend and Merthyr Tydfil. | |
DCC Jukes said he is "disappointed that these stores did not have sufficient security staff to manage events". | |
Staff called for help at the Tesco Extra store in Gabalfa, Cardiff, concerned about the number of people who had turned up for the sale events. | Staff called for help at the Tesco Extra store in Gabalfa, Cardiff, concerned about the number of people who had turned up for the sale events. |
Some shoppers tweeted there had been fights, but police said any incidents had dispersed before they arrived. | Some shoppers tweeted there had been fights, but police said any incidents had dispersed before they arrived. |
No arrests were made. | |
DCC Jukes added: "Police resources are already stretched in the early hours of the morning and the events that took place put even more pressure on our service to the whole community." | |
All calls came in just after midnight when stores opened. Officers were needed for crowd control. | |
Customers at the Gabalfa store began queuing at 18:00 GMT on Thursday to enter the supermarket at midnight. | Customers at the Gabalfa store began queuing at 18:00 GMT on Thursday to enter the supermarket at midnight. |
One customer, John Swan, got there at 23:00 GMT and left empty handed 90 minutes later. | One customer, John Swan, got there at 23:00 GMT and left empty handed 90 minutes later. |
He said: "I was shocked to be honest, me and my partner have never been before so we went to have a look. It was chaotic. | He said: "I was shocked to be honest, me and my partner have never been before so we went to have a look. It was chaotic. |
"The manager said a couple of minutes before the deadline 'no-one is to shove or to push and anyone pushing or shoving will be ejected from the store'. | "The manager said a couple of minutes before the deadline 'no-one is to shove or to push and anyone pushing or shoving will be ejected from the store'. |
"He was totally ignored." | "He was totally ignored." |
A Tesco spokesman said it contacted police about the Cardiff store "in the interests of customer safety". | |
"We're grateful to the police for their support and the store is now trading normally," they added. | "We're grateful to the police for their support and the store is now trading normally," they added. |
Black Friday has become known for altercations and arguments between shoppers as they fight to lay claim to items on sale in the weeks before Christmas. | Black Friday has become known for altercations and arguments between shoppers as they fight to lay claim to items on sale in the weeks before Christmas. |
The events have been adopted in the UK following the traditional sales in the US following the Thanksgiving Day holiday. | The events have been adopted in the UK following the traditional sales in the US following the Thanksgiving Day holiday. |