Thousands of bargain hunters queued outside stores in Birmingham's Bullring as the Christmas sales began in earnest yesterday.

Shoppers were queuing outside Next from as early as 3am, and the 3,500-strong line had snaked its way down from Rotunda Square to Edgbaston Street by the time bosses opened the doors at 5am.

Selfridges and Debenhams continued to attract the crowds, even though their sales started on Boxing Day, while more than 300 waited outside Harvey Nichols' doors from 8am yesterday.

Despite fears that consumer confidence was low in the run-up to Christmas, retail bosses claimed the sales would see many traders ending the year on a financial high.

Shopping centres across Britain yesterday braced themselves for what was predicted to be the busiest day of the post-Christmas sales.

Despite growing fears in the City about the economy, it appears that their concerns have yet to filter down to consumers, with more than half saying they remain confident about their personal finances.

An ICM poll in The Guardian yesterday showed 55 per cent of respondents were confident about their finances.

However the number of people with fears about the future is growing, with 44 per cent saying they are no longer confident about their personal financial situation and their ability to keep up with the cost of living, up four per cent on this time last year.

But at Birmingham's Bullring, general manager Tim Walley dispelled any such fears and said the mall was set to match last year's record footfall for December 27, which was just over 240,000.

"I've never seen anything like the queue outside Next, it was quite remarkable, especially after the sales at Selfridges and Debenhams got off to a strong start," he said.

"It's going to be a real challenge to top this in 2008, as this could be one of our best sales days since Bullring opened."

Kevin Breese, who runs Harvey Nichols and represents Retail Birmingham, suggested the reason the tills were ringing so loudly was because "Birmingham is finally being taken seriously as a shopping destination."

Designer shoes and bags were the must-haves for the well-heeled bargain-hunters at Harvey Nichols, he said.

"It was funny watching shoppers taking a 'short cut' through menswear to get to the accessories department, but bags and shoes appeared to be high on all sales shoppers lists this year.

"But in all my 23 years in retail I have never seen people sales shop with such gusto, which to me shows that Birmingham is finally being taken seriously as a shopping destination."

Birmingham Chamber of Trade and Commerce spokesman John Lamb, added: "With the improvements to shopping in Birmingham and Solihull, it seems business is booming."

The tills were also ringing at the Merry Hill Centre in Brierley Hill with sales at several of the largest stores, including Debenhams and Marks & Spencer.

Despite the influx of shoppers into Birmingham, Merry Hill, and Touchwood, in Solihull, no major problems were reported on the region's roads.