Swatch shuts stores after crowds queue for new watch

Swatch have closed their stores in cities across the UK after hundreds of people queued outside branches eager to buy a new limited watch.

The Swiss firm said it would not open its branches in the capital "in light of safety considerations for both our customers and our staff".

Stores in Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield will also remain closed.

The firm had been due to launch their new "Royal Pop" pocket watch collaboration with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet, with eight models priced from £335.

However the watch has been put on resale online for up to £16,000.

Better known for their colourful watches from the 1980s, Swatch have described the items as "a disruptive collaboration between two icons of Swiss watchmaking".

BBC News has contacted Swatch for a comment.

In the Liverpool One retail area, some shoppers had been camping for two days outside the Paradise Street store.

Merseyside Police said they received a report that "a group of males were acting in an aggressive manner and making threats" outside the shop at about 07:00 BST on Saturday.

"Officers attended and the crowd dispersed shortly afterwards," a force spokesperson added.

Queues had also been building up outside Swatch's branches internationally, including in New York where watch enthusiasts had been camping for a week, with reports that some had become unwell during the wait.

The firm also cancelled its launch event at Dubai Mall in the United Arab Emirates following a large turnout.

Swatch has said the new watches were inspired by the Pop Art movement of the 1950s and 60s.

They called it "a groundbreaking watch collection that combines joyful boldness and positive provocation with fine watchmaking".

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