The Blue Light Card website has crashed as teachers across the UK discovered they can get significant discounts on top brands.

This led to a rush of eager users, causing the site to crash and virtual queues to stretch to several hours as thousands tried to sign up and claim their perks.

The popular discount card, typically available to staff, emergency services, social care workers, and armed forces personnel, is now available to teachers, much to many people's surprise.

Many were alerted to this on X (formerly known as Twitter), sparking a mad dash to the website and app, which left the system overwhelmed.

Screenshots shared online showed wait times of up to three and a half hours, with one user commenting, 'Every teacher must be on registering.

' Another exasperated post read, 'We seem to have all crashed the website today.

How were we not aware of this earlier?' Anyone who already has one of the handy cards can continue to use it; it's just people trying to sign up who are having to wait.

Despite the technical issues, some managed to successfully register, including Craig Young, who said, 'There's a bit of a queue now, but I managed to sign up.

'A spokesperson said, 'What an incredible response we've had to welcoming teachers into our community.

Teachers are not just educators, but also mentors, guides, and inspirations that provide essential services to society – often going above and beyond the call of duty, as we saw during the pandemic.

The excitement and appetite to join our community today only goes to show how deserving of recognition and reward our teachers are.

' They added, 'Such is the demand we've seen today, we're experiencing some issues with our website and app, and our team is working hard to fix it as quickly as possible.

We're sorry for any inconvenience this is causing our members and we'll provide an update as soon as we can.

'For those still eager to sign up, Blue Light Card has directed users to a special page to register their interest while the site is being fixed.

Emily Rae, a maths teacher, shared her doubts on X, saying, 'I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Teaching can be hard, but we're not an emergency service, and our work isn't really in the same category as 'blue light'.

' Despite the mixed reactions, there's no denying that the addition of teachers to the Blue Light Card community has been a hit – so much so that the demand has brought the site to its knees.

Whether you're a teacher or another key worker, the promise of discounts on everything from Apple to holidays is enough to make anyone want to join the queue.

You can buy a physical copy of the card for £4.

99 or a digital card for free.

Once you've got one, it lasts two years.

You can use the digital card by downloading the Blue Light Card app via Google Play or the App Store.

It has a useful interactive map feature to help you find local discounts closest to your chosen location too.

You can also keep tabs on how much you've saved with the card, which is useful if you're looking to budget ahead of time.

The money-saving card was launched in 2008 and now features a number of partners, including Alton Towers and various other retailers.

To be eligible for a card, you have to prove your profession by uploading a form of valid ID or a recent payslip.

The retailers that participate in the Blue Light Card scheme can change regularly, meaning there isn't a comprehensive list of stores you can use it at.

So it's worth checking whether the discount is valid on the store website if you're shopping online, or asking a member of staff when at the till in-store – the worst they can say is no.

Always make sure to shop around for better offers before making a purchase to be sure you're getting the best deal possible.