Sales and the threat of poor weather led to more people heading to the shops over the Bank Holiday weekend, a survey says.

FootFall, which measures the number of people in shopping centres, said there were just under 1 per cent more shoppers out on Saturday and Sunday than during the period in 2002.

The figures come at a time when consumer confidence has been hit by the war with Iraq and speculation that the housing boom is over.

Tuesday May 6 2003