TRADERS had a bumper start to the season this weekend as crowds flocked to the seasided to catch some spring sun.

A mild winter saw seafront traders report better-than-expected business, many experienced their busiest weekend of the year so far as tourists poured into Southend and onto Canvey as the mercury peaked at 15C on 2pm on Saturday.

Southend seafront’s newest businesses, Spar and Subway opened this weekend in the former Circus Circus amusements arcade.

Paul Thompson, owner and Southend Seafront Traders’ Association chairman, said: “The new Subway and Spar opened on Friday and we’re really pleased with how they’ve gone and they’re really pleased with their first two days as they’re proving to be popular.

“The weather is key and it was a beautiful day on Saturday so everyone wanted to come to Southend – it’s almost as though summer has come early and we’ve also got an encouraging forecast for Easter so it’s a great start to the season.”

The booming trade came as a boost for George Zinonos of Ye Olde Chippy, which reopened on New Year’s Day after devastating floods hit the previous September.

He said: “It was very busy on Saturday and easily the busiest day we’ve had so far this year, which is good, because we’re going to need a lot of them.

“We also noticed January was better than normal because of the mild weather but we can definitely see more families coming to the seafront year on year.”

Simon Patterson, co-owner of Chinnerys, said the bar was busy day and night on Saturday.

He said: “It was a fantastic day’s trading and both the Seaway and Sea Life car parks were full by 1.30pm – we had an absolutely fantastic day down here and a really good night.”

Colin Gray of Southend’s Rossi ice cream said his staff were working extra hours to make sure their customers were sufficiently stocked up.

He said: “I think it caught a lot of people out that it was so busy.

“One of our salesmen actually visited a few of our customers to see how their stock was holding up and for them to order more - which they seemed to appreciate.”