About 800 customers are expected to form an orderly queue this morning for the long anticipated opening of Primark in Carlisle.

The retail giant will open its doors at 10am in a unit in The Lanes Shopping Centre, formerly occupied by BHS.

Two floors selling clothing for men, women and children await the eager shoppers as well as a homeware section.

And local traders close to Primark are ready for the influx of customers.

Steve Lambert, who runs the Muffin Break cafe in The Lanes, has extra staff and stock in this morning.

He said: “We have extra staff coming in as we are expecting it to be busy. We have extra food on order too.

“Other Muffin Breaks say they were very busy when Primark opened and that their footfall increased. I anticipate that happening here. We will be open from 7am so we’re ready.”

Sherelle Marshall, owner of The Fudge Bar in the central square at The Lanes, said: “We have plenty of sugar for breakfast to give people energy to queue.

“I think it’s a great thing. BHS was old fashioned. This is modern.”

On Tuesday night, little Noah Wall opened a family and friends event at the new Primark store.

The four-year-old, who was born with spina bifida and the brain condition hydrocephalus, handed out baskets and welcomed shoppers to the new store in The Lanes.

Mum Michelle Wall, known as Shelly, said: “It was a real treat for Noah to do this.

“We’d known Primark was coming for about a year. Noah’s nana was in Ireland to see Dominic Kirwan, who is a friend of ours and the Primark crew were staying at the same hotel. We became friends with them and they told us back then about their plans for the Carlisle store. We stayed in touch and that’s how Noah came to be a VIP at the family and friends event on Tuesday night.”

Although paralysed from the chest down, Noah’s progress has astounded the medical profession.

Shelly, of Abbeytown, said: “Noah has a cast on at the moment from the waist down so he has to lie down. We had him lying in a buggy with pillows to make him comfortable.

“He cut a ribbon and told people that the shopping was over there. Primark also gave him a goody bag and his own Primark lanyard which they said he should wear anytime he goes to the shop.

“We had a good look around and we saw the offices and the staff canteen. The aisles are wide so no problem with a buggy like ours and Noah saw the disabled changing room too. It was nice to see the place so busy and we were made to feel very welcome.

“It was a real treat for him to do this as it was near his bed time so after the event we got him changed into his pyjamas and then drove home. He fell asleep in the car and we just lifted him into his bed.”

Noah has gone on to develop in ways which are beyond any medical professionals’ expectations – including “regrowing” brain.

His family have campaigned for awareness among women to take folic acid at least three months before falling pregnant, to reduce the risk of spina bifida.

He will be the star of a Channel 5 TV show on Tuesday night called The Boy With No Brain. It is due to be shown at 10pm. Follow #theboywithnobrain on Twitter.