THE tills were ringing out for Black Friday yesterday as shoppers turned out in force to bag a bargain.

Stores opened early and prepared special discounts for the event, including at big-name stores such as Asda, Miss Selfridge and GAME, with UK shoppers expected to spend around £1.7bn over the weekend.

However, the number of shoppers trying to pick up a present at a cut-price rate meant many deals were sold out early on, including discounted televisions at Asda, which it is understood to have gone by around 8.30am.

Swindon shopper Gemma Fitchett said she had already waited for around an hour to buy items from Toys R Us before she headed for the town centre, which she called crazy.

“The shops are all really busy,” she said. “This is why I normally shop online. It’s crazy.”

However, those seeking cut-price deals online also faced problems, with shoppers struggling to access the websites of Tesco Direct, Currys, Argos and GAME.

A message on the Tesco Direct homepage said: “Sorry for making you wait. Lots of people are shopping with us at the moment and we need to ask you wait briefly. Don’t worry, we’ll redirect you to the website as quickly as we can.”

Those trying to shop online with Currys were told they would have to wait 25 minutes for access.

“We’re really sorry that the huge demand for our deals means you’re having to wait,” the website said.

“We really appreciate your patience and we’ll have you on our site as soon as possible.”

While a message on the Argos homepage said it was limiting access because of ‘very high volume’ and urged visitors to try again in a few minutes.

However, the sales continue this weekend, with shoppers at Swindon Outlet Centre being told to expect more discounts.

“This weekend is our peak weekend as we build up to Christmas,” said Nick Williams, marketing manager.

“A lot of our brands are offering extra discounts.”

An Asda spokesman also revealed more deals for shoppers today. “After months of planning and preparation we’ve welcomed over two million customers into our stores today who’ve snapped up our incredible Black Friday deals,” he said.

“In the first two hours alone we sold over 10,000 tablets.”

However, while customers visiting the Swindon Asda queued in an orderly fashion, the spokes-man said there was an incident at the Wembley store yesterday morning.

“We do not condone the behaviour of a very small number of people in our Wembley store this morning,” he said.

“Despite our extensive planning and additional security colleagues there was an isolated incident when the store opened.

“The sale has run smoothly in all our other 440 participating stores.”