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BBC

Chaos grips U.K. stores at Black Friday sales

Jane Onyanga-Omara
USA TODAY
Shoppers pass a store offering Black Friday sales on Oxford Street in London on Nov. 28.

Black Friday chaos spread across the pond to Britain as customers trampled each other in scenes police compared to "a mini-riot."

In an effort to grab the hottest deals, customers crushed each other and got into disputes at seven stores in northern England belonging to supermarket giant Tesco, said Chief Constable of the Greater Manchester Police Peter Fahy. Police were forced to close many of the stores, he said.

As the situation "spiraled out of control," three people were arrested, a woman's wrist was broken, a TV was dropped on a shopper in a wheelchair and a security guard was punched, Fahy said.

The chaos comes as an increasing number of U.K. retailers take part in Black Friday, including through online deals. Visa predicted U.K. shoppers would spend roughly $810 million online using credit cards Friday, which would make it Britain's biggest Internet shopping day in history, the BBC reported.

"This is the first year I've ever heard of Black Friday in the U.K.," said Melinda Neunie as she pursued Topshop's flagship store in London's Oxford Circus to take advantage of discounts up to 50%.

In London, police responded to reports of large crowds gathering at three Tesco stores. Nobody was injured, and no arrests were made. Police were also called to locations including Dundee, Glasgow and Cardiff, the BBC reported.

Also visiting Topshop to take advantage of the deals, Maira Khan said she hadn't seen the chaotic scenes that had engulfed other stores. "I think it's an excuse to go out and shop," she said of Black Friday coming to the U.K.

Describing the events in Greater Manchester as "reasonably predicable," Fahy said the 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 behavior and thefts of fuel from their petrol stations — much of which is preventable," he said. "We just ask these stores to work with us to reduce the demands on policing and reduce the risks of disorder and crime."

In a statement, Tesco said a "small number" of stores were affected but were open and operating normally.

"We work closely with the police authorities and take guidance on security measures in stores, and we will work with them following this event to make any improvements for next year," the company said.

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