PRIMARK has reopened its branches in East Lancashire along with all of its 161 stores in England and Wales today.

This comes as customers return to the high streets today with the easing of lockdown restrictions.

The fashion outlet, which has branches in The Mall, Blackburn and the Charter Walk shopping centre in Burnley says that its store are fully stocked with new Spring and Summer ranges.

Primark CEO, Paul Marchant, said: “We are thrilled to open our doors today and welcome customers back to Primark. We have been working really hard to get our stores ready to open safely; we are fully stocked with everything our customers have been waiting for, from fresh new season fashion to our great value, everyday must-haves, all at our amazing prices.

"Safety is our top priority for re-opening, and we ask our customers to continue supporting us and be mindful of our in-store measures, in particular if queuing outside and in-store.

"We are expecting a busy few days and have increased opening hours across our stores for the first week initially, to reduce queues and help meet demand safely.”

The company says that it has put a number of new safety measures in place to protect against the spread of coronavirus infections and ensure that customer confidence is maintained.

This will mean that branches will have extended store opening hours this week initially, with stores opening for two hours extra per day on average.

Blackburn's branch will remain open until 6pm, with Burnley's open until 6.30pm.

This is intended to help reduce queues, spread demand and give customers more time to shop safely.

Primark director of sales Phillipa Nibbs said: "We are delighted to open our doors and welcome customers back to Primark today.

"Our stores are fully stocked with fresh new season fashion and everyday must haves that our customers love, all at our great value prices."

To check local store opening hours and to find out more, go to: https://stores.primark.com/search.