Usually the only transport you need after a shopping trip is a car, bus or maybe a taxi. But today might be different. Bargain hunters have been warned they could be travelling in an ambulance by the end of the day.

The grim forecast has been made by the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS).

The reason? Black Friday.

The blue light service warned that in past years there have been “distressing scenes as some mild mannered shoppers have turned into rowdy bargain hunters with scuffles and scrums in the aisles, desperately trying to get their hands on the discounted goods”.

The concern that the last Friday in November is best spent at home is underlined by a message sent out from a leading law firm warning that any in-store damage has to be paid for and adding: “If a fellow shopper rips that cheap DVD player from your hands before you can pay for it, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Their advice ends: “If you get into a fight with other shoppers and are injured, any claim you make for damages will usually be against your fellow shoppers. 

"You have no claim against the store itself. The store has a duty of care to ensure that its premises are safe and managed properly; it does not have a duty to prevent shoppers fighting.”

Black Friday has developed a reputation for being less like a shopping trip and more like a punch-up on a rugby field. Another Blackeye Friday.

This year, Asda has declined to take part. The aggressive profile clearly worries some.

Janet Murray, marketing manager at Carlisle’s shopping centre The Lanes, counters that impression.

She says the fact that retailers are spreading the length of time that special offers are available has defused concentration on the one day.

“I don’t feel as though it has been aggressive,” she says.

“We have had offers for some time.

“They have expanded things to promote offers before and after the day and make it not so focussed on the day itself.”

The idea of Black Friday has spread into a multi-coloured month as different stores have tried to cash in on the phenomenon earlier than the last weekend in November.

As part of its “Red, White and Blue Fridays” campaign this year, Argos has been offering deals on the three Fridays leading up to today.

“Christmas shopping is stressful enough without doing it all in one weekend – that’s why we want to make every Friday a ‘feel-good’ one,” explains managing director David Robinson.

Britons are expected to spend £1.39 billion today, according to one report, and shops are set to make a total of £3.49 billion over the four-day spending spree which ends with ‘Cyber Monday’.

Gary Dickson, director of Scotby Cycles in Carlisle, is taking part in the retail phenomenon for the first time this year.

He says the shop is getting involved because people now expect the offers to be made.

“People are expecting a deal now.

“They are expecting a deal this weekend and we won’t disappoint them.

“We have bikes and clothing at 50 per cent off and we are reducing every single item in the shop.

“We didn’t do anything last year, but I think Black Friday has picked up momentum this year.

“People wait until now for a deal and we feel we should meet that.”

Carlisle electrical specialists Peter Tyson are taking part for a third year, offering reductions on TVs, soundsystems and other hi-fi gear.

Director Matt Tyson says the event draws consumer attention.

“We have a lot more traffic on our website and a lot more purchases,” he adds.

But Jonty Chippendale has no time for an event he describes as a “ghastly American phenomenon”.

The owner of The Toy Shop in Cockermouth says: “It is a ghastly American import driven by the constant need of the internet and supermarkets to win business share.

“I choose to have nothing to do with it. The best way to serve my customers is to get good product at the best prices all year round.

“If you look at Asda and other supermarkets’ figures, not only did they get bad publicity because people behaved in a foolish way, but they did not make much money on taking part.

“They found it was bad for customers and bad for business.”

Keith Jackson, retail analyst at the University of Cumbria, says customers have got wise to the offers.

He explains: “It has shifted shopping patterns. Your traditional Boxing Day sales, although still important, are not as appealing. Now you can grab a bargain before Christmas, rather than wait until afterwards.

“But people have only got so much money and we are all aware of our credit limit now.

“We can’t resist a bargain, but we have got wise to what a bargain is and we are not buying them just because we want them.

“I think people are getting clever at it. The consumer has started to take control, which is nice.”

The best of it (or worst, depending on your point of view) is that many of these pre-Christmas sales are extended over this weekend and Monday is ‘Cyber Monday’ when all electronic gear is reduced so we can all go bargain hunting again.

So happy shopping, though Derek Cartwright, director of operations at NWAS, warns: “Hopefully this year people will be more mindful when attending the sales and understand the consequences of their actions as a fight over a cut-price television is not worth a risk to your health, resulting in a call to 999.”