Croydon shopping outlet closed on opening day

The new Croydon Village Outlet centre in south

London closed on the day of its grand opening, as security and till systems failed to cope with visiting crowds.

The fashion discount centre, whose stores cover 535,000 square feet, was due to reopen at 10am Friday but remained closed until Saturday morning, according to reports.

The “configuration" of the store was reportedly being changed for the reopening with the introduction of extra security, barriers and sales staff in-store.

Croydon Village Outlet managing director Marco Cash said he was “overwhelmed" by the centre’s popularity and the number of visitors.

He added: “As advised, we had taken on additional security but no one could have estimated the enormous enthusiasm of the public in welcoming the store. As a result of the mass volume of people and the number of transactions on the tills we decided it was safest to close the doors and let shoppers already inside filter through the store, complete their purchases and leave."