Their eyes blazed as their arms stretched out in desperation.
This was the front line in the great Boxing Day bargain hunt.
The frenzied scene at a London perfume counter was repeated around the country as shoppers besieged stores on the first day of the sales.
Police were deployed to keep 'public order' yesterday with an estimated 10million customers spending nearly ÂĢ3billion on what was thought to be the busiest Boxing Day in history. Many queued through the night to secure a prime position.
Frenzy: The discounted perfume had customers scrambling for the boxes as if they were food hand-outs in an impoverished country
Literally grabbing a bargain: Desperate shoppers reach out to get their hands on discounted perfume during the Boxing Day sales at Selfridges in London
As the doors opened from 6am, mayhem ensued as thousands ran screaming through stores grabbing armfuls of designer items.
Crash barriers were installed and armies of security guards hired to control the crowds. In some stores, tourists from the Middle East, China and Nigeria outnumbered Britons in the hunt for labels such as Gucci, Burberry, Mulberry, Louis Vuitton and Prada.
Police were used to guard some of the country's biggest shops and malls, including the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Selfridges on London's Oxford Street.
Limey Idiots.