BOXING Day sale fever hit Bradford today with some bargain hunters joining the queues barely after the Queen's Christmas Day speech had ended.

Some stores at the city's Kirkgate Centre opened earlier than expected due to the size of the queues outside, and staff at the Sonic electrical store, who went to unlock the car park at the Ingleby Road store at about 4pm yesterday found a queue had already formed outside.

By the time the doors were opened at 9am today about 700 people had gathered to snap up offers including 50 inch flat screen television sets at £250, washing machines below £100 and Dyson vacuum cleaners at £99.

General manager Rob Mucha said: "Our complex is locked overnight but we went to open the gates at about 4pm on Christmas Day to let people into the car park and there were already around a dozen queuing.

"We guess there were around 700 people by the time we opened this morning, the store has been rammed."

The Kirkgate Centre in Bradford City Centre also reported a strong response from shoppers wanting to make the most of the sales.

Shops were due to open at 9am but by the time the complex was unlocked shortly before 8am, there were queues forming outside.

Centre manager Catherine Riley said: "It is extremely busy. We opened the doors so people could come in an queue outside the shops they wanted to buy from.

"There were queues outside all the major retailers."

Several opened earlier than anticipated, "At Boots, people were ducking under the shutters to get in quickly," Mrs Riley said.

"There are some amazing bargains and I think everyone will do well out of the sales this year.

"There are a lot of people who are very happy with their buys."

She said the number of bargain hunters increased as the day went on, adding: "I think some people have wanted a lie in, so things have got busier throughout the day. Everyone has got a carrier bag so everyone is buying something.

"We don't get the full sales figures until next week, but I think it is probably busier than last year, and I think that is to do with the size of the discounts."

Queues also formed at Forster Square Retail park in Bradford and at the Airedale Shopping Centre in Keighley where clothing retailer Next started its sale at dawn with other retailers opening at 9am.

Airedale Shopping Centre manager Steve Seymour said: "The initial feedback I received from the retailers was excellent – about 150 people were queuing outside Boots alone.

"It has been a good Christmas and the signs are that will continue."