Marks and Spencer has announced it will be keeping stores open until midnight in the run up to Christmas.

Two outlets in Norwich – the Longwater Foodhall and the Sweet Briar Simply Food – will see the extended hours on December 21, 22 and 23.

However the site in the city centre’s Rampant Horse Street will be open under normal trading hours.

Similar news has been announced at Waitrose - though details around which stores will stay open are yet to be revealed.

Waitrose said: “Waitrose shops will trade normal hours in the run up to Christmas Eve, with the exception of some stores which will open for extended hours on 21, 22 and 23 December.

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The latest these shops will open will be 11pm for convenience shops and 10pm for our supermarkets.”

Customers were directed to check individual store opening hours online closer to the time.

Aldi has also followed suit and has extended opening hours from 7am to 11pm from December 19 to 23.

Christmas Eve will see it open from 7am to 6pm.

The news comes as Primark said it would like to open 24 hours a day to recoup some of the revenue lost during lockdown.

George Weston, chief executive of Primark parent company Associated British Foods, said: “In some locations we could even open 24 hours. We know the demand is going to be there.”

Whether or not Primark would need to gain licensing approval to make such a move remains to be seen.

Mr Weston also said launching online was not an option: “I don’t think click-and-collect would work. We have a high-footfall, low-price model. The logistics would be very difficult.”