TRADERS are celebrating with business booming thanks to the recent sunny spells.

Numerous families have been visiting seafront and the city centre during half-term with businesses seeing a significant increase in customers.

Staff at Loading, a retro gaming bar, said: “With it being half term this week, we’ve seen a lot more people coming in.

“The kids are out, parents are coming in. It’s been great.

Welcoming

“We’re a very family orientated place, we’re very welcoming.

“The weather has definitely had a part to play in people coming in too and that is just what we need.”

A spokesman for Grand Junction Cafe, on the seafront, also said they have been extremely busy thanks to the good weather, and their outside seating has been nearly full as customers enjoy the unexpected sunshine and relatively warm temperatures.

Tucked just behind the seafront on St James’s Street, Bella Bar has also seen a rise in customers which they put down to the warm weather.

Owner Andy Stavrou said: “We’ll have been here 19 years in May.

“We’re the longest-running restaurant in this road.

“We’ve had more customers, definitely, and it’s nice to see some good weather after such a long, cold winter.”

The boost in visitor numbers comes ahead of popular events taking place in in the city this weekend.

The 12th annual Brighton Tattoo Convention is being staged at the Brighton Centre, featuring more than 300 tattooists, and various traders and exhibitions.

On Sunday it is the Brighton Half Marathon, starting at 9.30am in Madeira Drive.