PARENTS hoping to take advantage of Build-A-Bear’s 'Pay Your Age Day' promotion at intu Merry Hill were left disappointed today.

The store, located at the upper mall of the Brierley Hill shopping centre, has closed for a re-fit.

Many shoppers were hoping to take advantage of the one-day offer, which would see them pay their child’s current age in pounds for one of the popular stuffed toys instead of the normal retail price.

Although a sign was put up on the shop’s shutters to warn them of the closure in advance, shoppers who had not recently visited the centre would not have spotted it.

Frustrations were vented on Facebook, with Jana Bednarova Dhaliwal saying: “What a waste of time coming in this morning,” while Angie Pugh said: “Disgraceful, so many disappointed children today!”

Ruth Gadd said: “We went up this morning and there was loads of people disappointed,” and Sarah Osborne added: “Frustrating for the adults with disappointed kids as queues in Birmingham 3-4 hours long.”

However Claire Poole pointed out: “The refit was probably planned long before this event. They won’t stop a refit so people can get a cheap bear.”

A spokesman for intu Merry Hill said the store would re-open on Friday, July 20.

Elsewhere across the country, Build-A-Bear stores received an “unprecedented response” to the promotional event.

Many stores have already shut for the day due to high demand, with others closing the queues due to crowds and safety concerns.

A post on the Build-A-Bear-Workshop’s Facebook page said: “Keep in mind, our new Count Your Candles program is available to Bonus Club members all year long and allows children under 14 to pay their age for our special Birthday Treat Bear during the month of their birthday.”