A TOWN centre store was forced to close when it flooded on one of the busiest days in the run up to Christmas.

Staff at BHS in Crompton Place Shopping Centre grabbed mops and buckets after automatic sprinklers went off in the store, flooding the ground floor and adjacent bakery Greenhalgh’s.

Customers were evacuated at 10.30am. Crompton Place manager Malcolm Angus said centre staff and BHS workers would be working through the night to ensure the store would be open today.

He added that the store had been undergoing sprinkler system work when a pipe is understood to have burst.

“It is the sort of work that has been done hundreds of times before without any problems,” he said.

BHS and Greenhalgh’s were cordoned off and United Utilities was on hand to turn off the water supply and prevent any further damage.

Quick-thinking BHS staff managed to move stock away from the water and prevented any damage to goods.

A spokesman for Greenhalgh’s said staff were working hard to ensure the shop would be open today.

Christmas shoppers were yesterday turned away by police and security staff as the clean-up got under way.

Agnes McGuinness had travelled from Horwich planning to do most of her Christmas shopping in BHS.

“I wondered what had happened when I arrived. I am disappointed as I wanted to do my Christmas shopping here and will have to come back later in the week,” she said.

Tanya Foster-Brown, speaking on behalf of Arcadia Group — which own BHS — said: “The manager and staff have been working hard to get everything cleaned up in time to open today.

“Provided that everything is passed to be safe, then we fully intend to open as it is obviously a very important trading day in the run-up to Christmas.

“We will be in contact with Greenhalgh’s bakery next door to see what we can do to help them and it will probably be sorted out by insurance.”

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