CASH tills have been jingling merrily in Monmouth for the past week as pre-Xmas sales fever hit the town.

There was no mention of the recession nor the credit crunch as shoppers in their hundreds queued up for bargains in many of the shops in the town.

In fact, scenes were quite chaotic in some stores, such as Woolworths, as shoppers looked for bargains.

There were unprecedented scenes of traffic mayhem, with vehicles piling up in the main street outside the Woolworths store as administrators for the fallen High Street giant announced reduced sales figures of up to fifty per cent.

At Woolworths in Monmouth, as with many of the firms' closure threatened stores elsewhere, there were amazing scenes. Mr Neville Kahn, Joint Administrator and reorganisation services partner at Deloitte, which is handling the closure of the fallen giants, told The Beacon "We launched Woolworths' biggest ever sale with discounts of up to 50% on all goods (except concessions).

"We anticipated increased footfall in the stores and hired additional staff to cope with increased demand. Additional goods have been moved to all stores and further stock will be added in the coming days.

"There is continuing interest in the core Woolworths business and the sale will continue whilst potential buyers finalise their plans for the purchase of the business."

Highlights of the sale included up to 50% off toys, 30% off Christmas trees and decorations, 50% off all greeting cards, 20% off personal gifts and reductions on all entertainment products.

There were massive cuts in prices at the W.H.Smith store in Monnow Street and shoppers queued for the chance to purchase the latest books at knock down prices.

The traders of Monmouth Market together with support from Monmouthshire County Council have organised a Christmas Market to run at its' current site at the bottom of town next to the Old Monnow Bridge from 16th December to 20th December.

Traders need the towns support at the market and ask that no one parks in the small car park on these days from 6am to 6pm to ensure that traders can get in to set up the stalls.

The market is being set up differently for the Christmas market and just one car will disrupt the organisation of stalls. Any cars left in the car park during these times unfortunately will be blocked in for the whole day.

Besides hot roasted chestnuts and hot spiced apple drinks there is an eclectic mix of gifts suitable for all ages. Buy your Christmas wreaths and enjoy the festive atmosphere all available on your doorstep.

David Cummings, Chairman of Monmouth and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce commented: "Monnow Street has certainly been busy with Christmas shoppers over the last few weeks and we are encouraged not only by the number of shops now open on a Sunday, but also by the number of restaurants and cafes. This tends to extend the time shoppers spend in the town by providing a place to take a break from those heavy bags.

"We hope that the Christmas Market from 16th to 20th and the Farmers Market on 23rd will draw further shoppers into the town. The Chamber continues to look at ways to draw shoppers up town to the Shire Hall end. The Shire Hall shroud when erected is sure to become an attraction in its own right and help in this process.

"We continue to support inward commercial investment into the town that is sympathetic to the Monmouth experience and will use our best efforts to assist in overcoming any delays to project progress. Over the course of the last year a number of shoppers and visitors have indicated to me that that they were impressed by the friendliness and helpfulness of staff in certain shops and we hope that the name Monmouth will become synonymous with good customer service".