'Quieter than normal' start to Boxing Day sales in Hartlepool

Boxing Day shoppers make their way away from Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, in Hartlepool.

Around 15 people were waiting outside JD Sports, in Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, Hartlepool, and a handful outside the centre’s River Island fashion store for the traditional December 26 bargain hunt to begin.

Centre manager Mark Rycraft admitted: “It has been quieter than normal for a Boxing Day.

"With the Covid-19 situation, I think some customers have decided to stay at home.

Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, in Hartlepool, said trade was "quieter than normal" for Boxing Day.

"Those who did come here, however, have complied with all the social-distancing guidance, which we were really pleased with as it leads to a safer shopping experience.

"We had a handful of people waiting outside River Island and a queueing system in place outside JD Sports in preparation for their sales.

"But as soon as the doors opened the queues dissipated and we have to say thanks to the customers as they majority of them have followed the rules.”

Boris Johnson had urged people to 'think carefully' about avoiding crowds on Boxing Day as he briefed the nation on the worsening situation in the UK ahead of Christmas.

Millions more people woke up to harsher coronavirus restrictions on Boxing Day when the new tier changes come into force in England.

New lockdowns are set to be introduced in Scotland and Northern Ireland, while restrictions that were eased for Christmas Day in Wales were then re-imposed on Boxing Day.

Those in the strict Tier 4 in England increased by six million to 24 million people, representing 43% of the population, in response to a more transmissible variant being discovered in the UK.

Areas which moved into Tier 4 are Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, parts of Essex not yet in the highest tier, Waverley in Surrey and Hampshire, with the exception of the New Forest.

Tier 4 restrictions include a warning to stay at home, a limit on household mixing to two people outdoors and force the closure of many shops, hairdressers and gyms.

The measures come on top of Tier 3 restrictions such as the closure of pubs and restaurants except for takeaways and deliveries.

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