SWATCH has been forced to close stores in the UK after crowds swarmed security in hopes of getting their hands on a limited edition timepiece.
Shops in London, , , Manchester, Liverpool and shut yesterday after crowds rushed to buy one of the pocket .
Crowds gathered in St Davids as shoppers desperately tried to grab one of the watches Credit: Getty
Only some customers were lucky enough to grab one of the watches before the stores shut Credit: Getty
Chaos erupted and “fights broke out among the customers – who were hoping to get their hands on a limited edition “Royal Pop” timepiece.
The firm was due to launch its collaboration with Audemars Piguet yesterday – with eight models of pocket watch launched, priced from £335.
The popular watches have since been put up for resale online for up to £16,000, the BBC reports.
Hundreds of customers queued outside the stores before opening yesterday in a bid to be the first to grab one of the watches.
Police were called in across the country with one man getting arrested in Cardiff, Wales amid the drama Credit: Getty
In London’s Covent Garden extra security was deployed to the Swatch store Credit: Getty
Chaotic scenes unfolded across the UK when the stores opened at 6am as desperate shoppers clamoured to get into the shops and buy one of the limited edition “Royal pop” pocket watches.
Groups were reportedly “pushing and shoving” each other – with some “throwing chairs” amid the chaotic scenes.
A man was arrested in as the drama unfolded with Swatch shops in several cities forced to close for the entire day in the aftermath of the rush.
Several people were left disappointed with the limited supply of the watches unable to keep up with the massive demand.
In a shopping centre in southwest London footage showed officers called in to help keep order.
Police were also deployed to the shops to keep the crowds away from the closed store.
Some hopeful consumers queued outside the stores for hours before they opened Credit: Getty
The shoppers were hoping to buy one of the new Royal Pop watches by Swatch and Audemars Piguet Credit: EPA
Dramatic video shows cops attempting to hold back the customers after a group tried to storm the Swatch store.
Video showed crowds of dozens of people surrounding the store entrance with only a small area cleared of the shoppers by officers.
Security officers and police can be seen standing guard at the entrance of the Swatch shop – with railings set up in the hallway outside to hold back the gathered masses of customers.
Footage captured elsewhere in the shopping centre shows the groups of dispersed customers leaving the building empty handed after Swatch shut.
Some customers had been queuing outside of the shops but were left disappointed when they were told via loudspeakers that they would not be opening amid the chaos.
The scenes outside the Battersea Power Station store were described as “tense”, the Daily Mail reports.
Meanwhile, across the pond in America and in and , similar chaos unfolded.
In France police fired tear to disperse a crowd of some 300 people from outside a Swatch shop.
And, a fight broke out in Milan as hopeful shoppers battled with each other to get their hands on one of the watches.
The Sun has contacted Swatch for comment.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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