A big last minute Christmas shopping rush is underway in Exeter.
Thousands of shoppers left early for the city centre for what is expected to be one of the busiest days of the year.
Despite the poor weather shops were busy early and many car parks were full by 9.30am.
There were spaces at the John Lewis car park and King William Street, but car parks at the Guildhall and Smythen Street and Bampfylde Street were all full early.
Shoppers were being advised to use the park and ride buses as the best way of getting in and out of the city centre.
Retailers are expecting the next few days to be exceptionally busy.
Kate Connock, branch manager at John Lewis Exeter, said: "It's been fabulous. It's great to see so many people in Exeter enjoying the amazing mix of retail that we have.
"There have been lots of early shoppers making sure they get what is on their wish list but in the next few days we are going to be busy with people looking for some last minute inspiration.
"There is a great buzz in the city, during weekends in particular and the changes the city council has made to the car parks, with the special offers, have made a difference there.
"Where Christmas falls in the week affects retailers and it has fallen quite well for us this year as a large proportion of people will have finished on Friday and there are still four days to go for retail."
Brett Renfree, manager of WHSmith in the Guildhall Shopping Centre, perhaps unsurprisingly, reported strong sales of wrapping paper and gift tags.
Mr Renfree said: "It has been very, very busy since 9am this morning.
"It is all about the destination shop today, rather than browsing. People know what they want and are going straight for it, queuing at the tills and then moving on to the next thing.
"Wrapping paper and tags are going well and we are struggling to keep up with that.
"Also very popular is the WHSmith's e-reader, the Kobo, which seems to be top of the lists this year.
"But people are still enjoying books, they are selling well, such as Jamie Oliver's latest."
