intu Merry Hill has joined retail businesses across the nation to mark Purple Tuesday - the UK’s first accessible shopping day.

The shopping mall is among retail and leisure destinations across the UK which have joined the campaign to promote awareness by highlighting the difficulties facing disabled shoppers and the measures that can be put in place to overcome them.

The Beacon Centre, Stourbridge Hearing Centre and Dudley Mind signed up to support the event to raise awareness of different disabilities to help improve the shopping experience for all customers - and representatives from the charities will be at the mall (near customer services) all day today for Purple Tuesday (Tuesday November 13).

A visually impaired assisted shopping event has also been organised which will see retailers showcasing their latest products and personal shopping services - an event the centre plans to offer again in the coming year.

Endorsed by the Department for Work and Pensions, Purple Tuesday is a call-to-action for retail businesses to make shopping more accessible for disabled customers.

A spokesman for intu said: “We are focused on creating great experiences for our customers and ensuring intu shopping centres are accessible destinations for all.

"We do this by working closely with our customers and important organisations like Purple to find new and innovative ways to improve our physical spaces, customer service and support for employees.”