A LARGE crowd gathered for the opening of a major retailer's new store on Broughton Shopping Park.

H&M opened its doors to the public at its new store on Wednesday - with 300 people queueing from 8am to make sure they were one of the first through the doors.

The first 200 people in the clothing retailer's new 1,300 square meter store received a goody bag and all customers joined the queue before 11am were given a 25 per cent off their entire purchase for the day.

Toni Galli, H&M UK country manager, said: "We are really pleased to have opened our new store in Broughton and can't wait to share our fashion with our new local customers.

"It was great to have so many people join us to see our new store open and we hope our customers will enjoy shopping with us."

Opening its first UK store in 1976, the Swedish retailer now has over 240 stores across Britain.

Alan Barker, centre manager for Broughton Shopping and Leisure, said: "H&M is one of the biggest and best-loved fashion brands, so it'll be a great addition to our already wide range of retailers at the centre.

"I'm sure it'll be a popular choice with our shoppers, particularly in the run up to Christmas."