SHOPPERS in Bradford were keen to get back into the shops yesterday on the first day after national lockdown ended, with centres experiencing “Saturday levels” of footfall.

After a month closed, many people were keen to get back to the shops to get Christmas shopping done and take advantage of the bargains on offer.

Queues were reported at the Debenhams store in the Broadway centre, with shoppers apparently keen to take advantage of bargains caused by the department store’s demise.

However for the most part there were very few big queues, but footfall is anticipated to only get higher throughout December.

Catherine Riley, centre manager at Kirkgate Shopping, said it was lovely to see shop owners back in the centre and that it was “busy but comfortable for shoppers”.

She said: “It was busy, but socially-distanced busy.

“We had lots of people through the doors but didn’t have big queues and crowds, it was very comfortable for shoppers.

“It was great all round, shoppers had access to the stores and items they wanted but it wasn’t crowded so everyone was safe.

“Yesterday was comparable to a Saturday which was amazing, especially with children still at school, and visits were spread over a longer period with some shops opening until 9pm which allows people to spread the times of their visits.

“We’re expecting footfall to ramp up throughout the month. The car park was busy this morning which reflects the busyness of the centre and we only expect that to increase.

“It was wonderful to see retailers back, we were in throughout supporting the essential shops but it was so quiet but to see everyone back was lovely.

“We’re here for the retailers, it’s difficult seeing them struggle yesterday so we were going round yesterday to make sure they all know we as a centre are here for them. It was nice to see familiar faces again.”

Ian Ward, general manager at The Broadway, said: “It’s been great to welcome customers back into the centre.

“Footfall was steady throughout the day and overall, there were more people out shopping in comparison to before the November national restrictions.

“The next few weeks before Christmas is very important for retailers. Retailers have a ‘Golden Quarter’ at the end of the year and many have lost four weeks of trading.

“We were delighted to see Game On open its doors for the first time and are welcoming new retailer, O2 to the Centre today.

“Broadway is open 9am to 7pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 5pm on Sundays.”