SMALL Business Saturday proved to be a huge success for Westbourne thanks in part to the special guest appearance of legendary musician Ray Dorset, alias Mungo Jerry.

The Bournemouth suburb saw a staggering increase in footfall of 46.3 per cent on Small Business Saturday compared to the Saturday of the previous week.

Westbourne Business Association Chairman, Steve Taylor, welcomed MP Conor Burns, leader of Bournemouth Borough Council John Beesley and chief executive of Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ian Girling, to experience the village on one of the busiest days of the year.

Despite the poor weather Westbourne, which has been bucking the national trend with footfall figures throughout the year, was delighted to maintain roughly the same footfall as the same day last year when there had been blue sky and sunshine.

Steve Taylor said: “We specifically chose December 5 for this year’s Christmas event as it coincides with ‘Small Business Saturday’ – a national initiative which exists to support, inspire and promote small businesses and encourage people to go out and buy locally.

“We want everyone to know that Westbourne is a fantastic place to visit with so many independent retailers for great shopping, plus a really diverse choice of places to enjoy a coffee, have a snack or wine and dine in style.”

Westbourne Bookshop co-owner Paul Angel said it was the busiest day he'd seen in the shop in the last six months.

"Sales were significantly up and we could tell everyone was having fun and we certainly had a fantastic day ourselves.

"We enjoyed meeting lots of new customers who have just discovered us.”

Small Business Saturday is in its third year in the UK, having originated in 2010 in the USA.

Ian Girling added: “I thoroughly enjoyed visiting many of the shop owners and there is definitely a real buzz going on in Westbourne.

"It was impressive to see how many businesses were putting on special tastings and events as part of Small Business Saturday and the Christmas Festival and it was great to see that locals were showing their commitment and loyalty to their favourite independent retailers.”