Once in, they hurriedly tried to fill their trolleys with last-minute food supplies after the Government s U-turn at the weekend threw the Christmas plans of millions into disarray.
Hundreds lined up around the block outside a Waitrose in Beckenham, Kent, while it was still dark. The queue went on for a mile outside a Marks & Spencer in North Tyneside, with some shoppers waiting almost an hour.
It was a similar situation at a Sainsburys in Epsom, Surrey. Supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables were depleted at a store in Swindon, while shelves were practically stripped of Christmas essentials such as carrots and Brussels sprouts in Bridgend, south Wales.