Bargain hunters go pecking for pickings

AS gleeful as the turkey who survives Christmas, bargain hunters yesterday picked and pecked their way through racks of retail reductions, greedy to gobble up any festive leftovers as end-of-year sales kicked off.

Genuine price cuts left most in good humour and there was no sign of handbags at dawn even among the more zealous who queued from the early hours outside some of the nation’s flagship shops.

At Brown Thomas, managers reported the best Christmas on record, amid the sound of tills rehearsing ringing in the New Year.