SHOPPERS yesterday finally brought festive cheer to traders fearing a slump in sales this Christmas.

The number of visitors to shopping centres and department stores across the region has been down across the board on previous years.

With only three days to go, the malls were packed yesterday as the late dash for presents eventually started.

Managers put the slow start down to Christmas falling on a weekend and shoppers having a full five days this week.

The Prince Bishops centre in Durham, the Mall in Middlesbrough, Middleton Gr-ange in Hartlepool, and the Cornmill Centre in Darlington reported significant increases in shoppers.

Gateshead's MetroCentre said visitor figures were up four per cent on last year.

But experts put that down to the extra visitors generated by the opening of the £85m Red Mall development. The extension opened in October and helped boost interest in the MetroCentre at a time when spending on the High Street was cooling.

Elsewhere, retailers said many shoppers had left it to the last minute in the hope big stores would start sales early.

Canny buyers have been rewarded with offers as nervous retailers sought to bolster Christmas takings.

However, the slew of pre-Christmas offers could mean a bitter January for those stores that jumped the gun, as many buyers will have snapped up the offers already.

David Ward, centre manager of The Mall, in Middlesbrough, said the late surge was welcome for all traders.

He said: "This week has been the first really busy week, and today has been the busiest so far.

"I have just had a walk around town and it is absolutely heaving.

"We have heard all sorts of doom and gloom stories, but we seem to be doing okay, and some shops are reporting takings up by as much as 14 per cent. On an average day we would have around 40,000 shoppers, but we have had 70,000 and we expect it to get even busier."

Middleton Grange manager Cormac Hamilton said yesterday was the centre's busiest day after a sluggish start to the month. He said: "We had a strong November and then saw a drop last week, but have more than caught up."

The centre, which usually attracts about 30,000 people a day, was forecast to have 50,000 through the doors yesterday, with more expected today and tomorrow.

The Cornmill Centre also suffered from a slow start, but bosses were expecting 33,000 visitors yesterday - compared to 20,000 on a normal day.

Centre manager Albion Small said: "We think people have lulled themselves into a false sense of security by thinking they have two extra days compared to last year, but it is picking up now."

Jill Dodds, of the Prince Bishops Centre, said: "It finally looks like there are lots of people out there spending money."

At the Newgate Centre, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, manager Dave Wilson said sales were steady, but not busy. He said: "It is clear people are still being complacent about it because they think they have all week, so we expect things to pick up."

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