Traders' delight as summer sun means business is booming

Traders were overrun as holidaymakers looked to pick up sweet treats, mementos and more from their trips to Brighton.

Owen Smith has owned and run the Carousel bar west of the pier for 45 years.

The 75-year-old Hove resident said: “Brighton seafront is as good as any.

“As soon as people come down and the sun is shining it gives them that little bit of a high.

“Everything is bubbling and the whole seafront has got a different feel about it.

“The way it has been renovated over the years has made it more like a European seafront and it’s a really good little stretch.

“I think it’s as good as any seaside resort in the country, it’s got so much to offer in comparison with other places.”

Owen said the summer sun was “very welcome” after a period of heavy rainfall had taken its toll on the bar’s takings.

He said: “People don’t come down to the seafront if it’s pouring down with rain.

“The rain is like acid in a sense. Nobody wants to be walking in it. It turns people straight away.

“In the weeks before the hot weather arrived it was horrendous,

“But the last couple of weeks have really picked things up and we are gaining back what we lost in the rain.”

It was not just catering industries which reaped the benefit of the sun on Saturday.

Brighton and Hove Buses driver Lynne Cornect said the company’s open-topped City Sightseeing services were also proving popular during the warm weather.

The 53-year-old said: “So many people are coming to Brighton to enjoy the beach and the sunshine.

“When the weather is good like this then we always get people who have planned to come to the city, but now we are seeing more and more people who have woken up in London, seen the weather and thought ‘oh, let’s go to Brighton for the day’.

“They get a day ticket and use the open-top bus to tour the city.

“It’s great.”

But she said the weather was not such a problem for her personally.

Lynne said: “I’m Australian darling so this hot weather is OK for me.”