About half a million people are thought to have visited Bradford's largest indoor shopping centre in the week leading up to Christmas.

When the latest weekly footfall figures for the Kirkgate Centre are confirmed, they are expected to nudge towards the 500,000 landmark, according to centre bosses.

And figures for the previous week show that 350,000 people visited the Kirkgate Centre - 3.3 per cent up on last year.

Bargain-hunters were set to flock into the city centre again today, with queues expected when the Kirkgate Centre threw open its doors for the first day of the sales at 9am.

Kirkgate Centre manager Catherine Riley said: "The footfall figures for the Kirkgate are against a national trend of falling footfall where centres across the country were 2.7 per cent down.

"Once more, Kirkgate is bucking the trend and Bradford people are staying close to home. We expect this week's figure to nudge half a million.

"As well as the pre-Christmas buzz, indications are that Boxing Day will continue the trend. We open the doors to the centre at 9am and expect there to be queues."

  • Start or join a debate on this issue in our online forum - Click here