Up to 200 extra staff are being recruited at Warrington’s main shopping centre to cope with the expected Christmas rush.

Store managers at Golden Square Shopping Centre are now taking on the seasonal workers – with Debenhams already starting to stock festive goods and food, as shoppers seek to spread the cost of Christmas.

The centre, where more than 5,000 people work full and part-time, welcomes a million shoppers a month to its 140 stores and Golden Square Director Ian Cox is expecting that figure to rise in the coming weeks.

The busy spell kicks off with Black Friday on November 29, when Golden Square will be offering free parking, with stores open from 8am until 8pm to cope with the expected rush for shoppers eager to pick up bargains.

The increase in visitors continue to rise in the run-up to Christmas, then peaks in the last week of festive shopping and during the New Year sales.

A number of the seasonal staff could also be offered permanent jobs in the New Year, say retailers.

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