Loom Bands create great success for Shropshire's shops.

Since the start of the year more than £9 million of loom bands have been sold according to figures from market research group NPD.

In the first week of July sales reached a record £1m.

Abbie Arrowsmith, sales assistant of The Mulberry Bush toy shop in Wem, said she was not in the least bit surprised by the figures, saying demand had been huge.

"It's been ridiculous," she said.

"Everyone wants them, that's why we started selling them because children would come in asking if we had them all the time.

"Since the start of the year we've really seen it take off, and we can sell about 20 packs a day sometimes.

"Parents love them too and are buying them for their children quite a lot."

First created by Cheong Choon Ng, a Malaysian who moved to the USA, more than three million loom band kits have been sold worldwide.

With different colours and variations available, they have been put to use in a whole host of varying patterns to create different items.

And as they only cost £1 or £2 a pack, the perfect pocket money spend, for many independent toy shops they have provided a much needed boost to sales.

Oswestry's Earthlink store on Leg Street was one of the first outlets in the area to sell loom bands.

John Galloway, from the store, said: "I think we were the first in town to have them and at one point we just could not get enough of them, they were so popular.

"It certainly boosted the shop, especially when they first took off.

"It was one of our suppliers in Manchester who said they were really taking off so we thought we would give them go.

"That was quite a while back when we were the first to have them but it seemed lots of places then started to stock them and that does knock your trade around a bit."

But as with most crazes, the trend looks set to die down after the school holidays.

Conor Butler, manager of the Tin Shed Factory Outlet in Market Drayton, said: "Children went really crazy for them about a month ago and that was when it was really popular.

"It's died down a little now and people still want them but it's not so much.

"We sold a lot last month, but it's probably not going to last much longer, like most of the crazes."

Amy Stevens, team leader at Hobbycraft on the Telford Bridge Retail Park, said: "The loom bands sell ridiculously well.

"We get deliveries every Friday and as soon as the stock is on the shelves it goes straight back out, so we're selling out almost straight away.

"We get the kits in each week which we sell for £10. Normally we get quite a few but they sell out instantly so we get people come in asking for them and we have to turn them away.

"We still have the little packets with the small kits but people want the bigger packs.

"It is a good way to get kids into crafting, it is really popular with kids in schools and if they are trying this out they might get into jewelry making later on, or other crafts.

"Everyone is just mad for them. We've had some different stock in now where you can add watches on so people are coming in to buy those now.

"They've been going crazy for them."