The Black Friday frenzy hit Wiltshire this morning with shoppers queuing for bargains.

The queue was already stretching around the side of Sainsbury's in Chippenham at 5.45am ahead of its 7am opening.

Discounts on a range of electrical items like televisions, kindles and vacuum cleaners will continue throughout the weekend while stocks last, but Sainsbury’s staff said they had sold out of most things already.

Ten vacuum cleaners went in just five minutes and more than 70 TVs had all gone by 9am.

Lisa Jones, general merchandise manager for electricals, said: “Customers were already queuing when I arrived at 5.45am, covering the whole of the front of the store and right around the side. There were more than we were expecting.

“There was a bit of a stampede. They were all in high spirits, chatting and laughing away.”

She said they did not experience problems like elsewhere in the country; police were called to three Tescos and an Asda in London, and Greater Manchester Police appealed for calm after attending seven Tesco shops, at which three men were arrested and a woman was hit by a falling television.

It is the first year Sainsbury’s in Chippenham has had Black Friday offers and they now plan to make it an annual event.

In Trowbridge shoppers queued outside Asda in the Shires from 5.30am.

Russell Elkins, general store manager, said that a crowd of 100 people were queuing outside until the shopping storm started at 8am.

He said: “People have been queuing for hours and there were three of four lines which sold out straight away like TVs and Xbox 360s.

“We predict that the rest of the available stock will hopefully be gone by the end of the day and that shoppers come in to grab a bargain.”

The picture was the same at the nearby Spitfire retail park where Keith Hellier, manager of Curry's, said the store had experienced its busiest hour of trading all year after opening at 8am.

Across the park, shoppers queued outside Knees ready to grab a bargain when it opened at 9am.