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Parents are being turned away from the Build-A-Bear store at the Mall Cribbs Causeway due to "extreme crowds" turning up for the 'pay your age' promotion.

Build-A-Bear launched its first ever Pay Your Age Day on Thursday (July 12), which means you pay only the age of the child whose bear it will be.

But the promotion has proved too popular, with one parent saying that 2,000 people turned up at The Mall to get in on the deal.

Queues for the Build-A-Bear store were closed due safety concerns over the huge number of people.

One parent, who wished not to be named, said it was chaos.

Speaking to Bristol Live, he said: "It's chaos down there. My wife is there now and it's just madness. They were at capacity before the store had even opened and people had been queueing for hours.

"The crazy thing is, a lot of the children there are of school age, so it makes you wonder if parents have let them take the day off for this."

(Image: Copyright Unknown)

A statement from Build-A-Bear said: "The response to our Pay Your Age Day event at all of our U.K. locations has been overwhelming and unprecedented in our 21-year history.

"The crowds have greatly exceeded our expectations and, per local authorities, queues are at capacity and we cannot accept additional Guests due to extreme crowds and safety concerns.

"We understand our Guests are disappointed, and we are working to address the situation. We will reach out directly to our valued Guests as soon as possible."

Pay Your Age has been hugely popular across the country, with hundreds queuing in Wales, Hull and Bournemouth.

A spokesperson for the Mall said: "Due to the unprecedented demand for the Build-A-Bear promotion today, they have now closed the queue.

"The Mall remains open as usual. Please address any queries to Build-A-Bear directly."