Bermuda residents went crazy yesterday in a bid to find a way around the CableVision shutdown - buying new antennae, hiring videos and visiting the cinema.

By late yesterday morning, stores around the Island said they had sold out of every single available television aerial, with some even offering to adapt radio antennae for customers, instead.

Last night, staff at video stores were bracing themselves for a rush of custom as residents went in search of alternative entertainment to replace their lost cable TV.

And the cinemas were also expecting additional custom once people left work.

Assistant General Manager at Gorham's hardware store Henry Durham said sales were excellent yesterday.

"We are completely out of antennae stock now," he said.

"I'm just on the other line to see if we can bring in more from overseas on a quick delivery tonight. It's not looking likely, though.

"But people are still looking for antennae so we have started a list and are taking names, should we get some more in. This has been great business for us."

Masters, M&M International and Radio Shack all reported that they had completely sold out last night.

Matthew Mello, marketing and sales manager for M&M International, said: "This morning, before 9 a.m., we had a queue of people waiting outside the door waiting to buy something for their televisions.

"But we sold out of the regular antennae on Wednesday as people anticipated losing their cable that night."

So, instead, he said, staff at the store tried to "rig up" antennae for customers, as well as adapting radio antennae.

He added: "We sold 50 or 60 of those (radio antennae) today. We had an assembly line going where we were trying to get people rigged up.

"But we are anticipating getting about 200 rabbit ears antennae in on Friday (today), and we have another 400 coming in next week."

Even Stuart's, on Reid Street, said it had been inundated with queries and calls all day from people searching for a means to get their televisions working, despite the fact that they do not sell any TV equipment.

A worker there, who would not be named, said: "About 95 percent of our phone calls today have been in regards to this."

Jan Hollis, manager of Leisure Time video store, said that during the day yesterday the shop had not been inundated with with people looking to hire videos, however, she said there had been a steady stream of people wishing to become members.

She said: "We have extra staff on and we have had to set up a new register for people signing in.

"We are expecting to be very busy after 5 p.m. when people finish work."

But Ms Hollis said business at Leisure Time was good enough without CableVision pulling the plug, and she said she feared the massive increase in business may lead to a poorer service for regular customers.

"As long as we can keep the customers satisfied and things running smoothly, we will be happy," she said.

"We don't want people to lose out (on the film of their choice) and we don't want people to have to wait in line. We don't want people to be unhappy.

"We just hope that CableVision and Government solve this issue."

Phase 1 video store at Collector's Hill in Smith's said it, too, was expecting a rush after 5 p.m., but staff said they were bringing older videos from the back and putting them out front to cater to the extra demand.

And although Island Satellite sales manager Fred Smith said the phones had been ringing off the hook all day yesterday with people enquiring about the possibility of getting satellite TV installed, he said he believed only a fraction would lead to additional business.

"We have five phone lines and they have been constantly ringing all day," said Mr. Smith.

"But most of the people have got three or four cable hook-ups in their homes, and, with satellite, you pay a full subscription for each one.

"Some of the customers are not serious. If we get 20 percent of them signing up, we are doing well."

However, he said Island Satellite had been extremely busy in recent weeks and was all out of new systems. He said there was a shipment due in next Monday, but they were already spoken for, and the next consignment was not due in for another two weeks.