Police were called after internet rumours of a cut-price give-away led to a dangerous crush at the opening of a fashion store.

Thousands of bargain-hunters jostled to get inside Primark’s new flagship store in Oxford Street, London. As the doors opened the crowds surged forward, damaging a set of doors. A security guard and a member of staff suffered minor injuries, Primark said.

The frenzy followed false rumours that first-day shoppers would be given discount vouchers — and even that all items would be sold for £1.

Famous for its “fast fashion”, quickly turning catwalk trends into cheap clothes for the high street, Primark had promised 70,000sq ft of retail nirvana but was overwhelmed by the response. Huge crowds blocked the pavements and police fought to prevent people from going through the doors. Shoppers were let in on a one-in, one-out basis as the queue from the entrance snaked round a corner, kept in check by five officers.

Inside, the queues at the tills grew to more than 100. Shoppers carried off their purchases in brown paper carrier bags.

Vicky Webber, 17, who was waiting when the doors opened at 10am, said: “It was mental. People were pushing to get in and the door got broken and police were pushing everyone back so they could fix it. When they opened the doors they were letting us in one by one because they obviously thought people would get hurt if everyone surged forwards.

“There were rumours that people would be handing out 25-per-cent-off vouchers and some people were really excited because they had heard everything would be £1. But it was just a rumour.”

Primark, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods, operates 162 stores in Britain, Spain and Ireland and sells homeware and clothes for men, women and children. A £15 linen spring coat was one of the best-selling items yesterday.

Breege O’Donoghue, a director, said: “We knew we were going to be busy, but this exceeded all expectations.”

The false rumours are believed to have been spread on Wednesday through internet chatrooms, and 24 hours before the opening members of the public were calling the store asking if they were true.

Westminster City Council, which is responsible for ensuring that shops in its area adhere to health and safety regulations, said: “We shall be contacting Primark to check that they had arrangements in place to deal with the large crowds.”

All the rage

— 6,000 people turned up for the midnight opening of an Ikea store in Edmonton, North London, in 2005, lured by the prospect of a £45 sofa. Nine ambulances were sent after 22 people were crushed or suffered heat exhaustion. The store shut after 30 minutes

— Up to 700 people queued for hours outside shops when Stella McCartney’s inexpensive designer range went on sale in Australia last month. A security guard had to break up a scuffle between two women at a Sydney store

— Four people died, three of them children, when a2001 government-sponsored Christmas gift programme went awry in Aracaju, Brazil

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