TENS of thousands of shoppers are expected to flock to out-of-town malls and the high street as the rush to buy Christmas gifts continued.

Glasgow Fort kicked off its annual late night midnight opening yesterday - and they are bracing themselves for a 25% increase in shoppers compared to the previous week.

Around 50,000 people came to the shopping park during its 14 hours of opening yesterday as they desperately hunted out presents for family and friends.

The centre will remain open from 10am-midnight until next Tuesday, which is expected to attract around 90,000 people, making it the busiest day of the year.

Shopping bosses are also expecting a huge rush at the weekend, with between 70,000 and 80,000 revellers expected through the doors.

It came after after the mall revealed around 300 local people have secured jobs at Glasgow Fort this festive season.

Bosses worked with the local JobCentre Plus, as well as Jobs and Business Glasgow, to fill the positions.

The shopping chiefs aims to employ as many people from the area as possible and the majority of its stores' permanent 2500 employees live in Easterhouse and the surrounding areas.

Catriona Morton, District Manager for Jobcentre Plus, said: "This massive jobs boost for the local area is a very welcome one and will help support many families at this busy and expensive time of year.

"We are delighted to be supporting Glasgow Fort in its commitment to community employment and we are pleased to work with the teams there to provide strong candidates for the busy Christmas shopping season and beyond."

Glasgow Fort's stores will open from 10am to midnight for the nine days giving shoppers 14 hours a day to tick items off their Christmas shopping lists.

The shopping park pioneered midnight opening in 2006 and this is the ninth years retailers will be ringing the tills until late.

Phil Goodman, Centre Manager at Glasgow Fort, said: "This is an incredibly busy time of year for us and we are delighted our stores have once again been supported by the JobCentre Plus and Jobs and Business Glasgow in Easterhouse to help fill these positions with a strong workforce.

"Our midnight opening is very popular for shoppers with busy lives. There's a lot to cram in at this time of year and we have found people appreciate the opportunity of not having to rush around the stores and actually enjoy choosing their gifts at a more leisurely pace. With our restaurants and cinema, people are likely to combine shopping with an evening out."

Intu Braehead also kicked off its first day of midnight opening yesterday. It runs until next Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in the City Centre both the St Enoch Centre and Buchanan Galleries will extend their opening until 9pm until Friday.