Thousands of shoppers have been making their way to Bristol's shopping centres in the last minute rush to finish their Christmas shopping.

The Mall at Cribbs Causeway and Cabot Circus and Broadmead in the city centre were all packed with customers on Tuesday and are expected to be busy again on Christmas Eve.

A spokesperson for The Mall at Cribbs said that with 90,000 shoppers through the doors on Monday, it had been their busiest day ever.

Although Tuesday was not quite so busy, shoppers were still pouring in to bag a few more festive buys.

On Monday the roads leading to The Mall ground to a halt as shoppers headed for the out-of-town shopping centre, but on Tuesday the roads were much clearer.

Jon Edwards, commercial director at The Mall, Cribbs Causeway, said: "We have never seen so many people arrive in such a short space of time - we think people just held back from shopping over the weekend hoping for last minute bargains.

"Of course it is good for The Mall but the last thing we want to do is annoy any customers who have to wait in traffic.

"We have had discussions about what happened and have decided that it was an exceptional day. Over the next few years we do have a number of infrastructure projects going ahead that will hopefully ease congestion."

Many determined Christmas customers have had to brave large queues to get everything on their list.

One Mall shopper, Jane Leslie, 59, from Easter Compton, queued for an hour on Tuesday at The Mall just to get a gift voucher.

She said: "All I wanted was this voucher for my friend's Christmas present. I tried to get it yesterday but the queue was really long, and then today I saw it through and ended up queuing for an hour."

Broadmead manager John Hirst said: "It has been extremely busy in Broadmead on both Monday and Tuesday. As we expected, the Christmas rush has come late this year.

"Monday was very busy indeed - it is as if someone has turned a tap on and now there's no stopping people.

"Christmas Eve will be the same and then we think it will be busy on Boxing Day too as the sales start."

Richard Belt, Cabot Circus centre director, said: "Cabot Circus has been very busy on both Monday and Tuesday and shoppers have been able to take advantage of retailer promotions and enjoy a series of captivating events and festive performances."

He added: "Bristol is now the undisputed regional shopping capital and a destination for Christmas shoppers from across the South West."