Despite competing with The Notting Hill Carnival and the Metro Weekender on Clapham Common, an event to celebrate all that is good about Tooting Town Centre was hailed an outstanding success.

Businesses took centre stage during the Discover Tooting three-day event held last weekend, with many flinging open their doors and offering deals and promotions to event-goers including free sweet and savoury food tasting.

And traffic was brought to a standstill outside woman's designer clothes store, Saiqa, on Saturday.

During one of the weekend's highlights, crowds gathered to watch a live fashion show by real models who had replaced the usual window mannequins.

Buskers, drummers, jazz musicians and live DJ's kept the crowds entertained during the weekend.

And the event was rounded off by a Chariot Festival on Bank Holiday Monday when worshippers from the Muththumari Amman Temple drew a 21 foot high hand-carved wooden chariot along Upper Tooting Road to Figges Marsh Common and back again.

Saiqa Nassar-Majeed, 37, director of Saiqa, said: "Our window display went really well.

"People were taking pictures and cars were stopping outside the shop. There was a lot to learn for next time and if two or three more people do events that are different then Tooting will really be talked about."

Tooting town centre manager Audrey Helps said: "It was very succesful and we have got a lot to build on if we want to do it again.

"The success for each business was directly proportional to how seriously they took it and what they put into it.

"I was delighted that so many went to town and took advantage of the event to show visitors what they do."

Tooting MP Sadiq Khan, who attended this weekend's events said: "Hundreds of people have discovered the wonderful secret of Tooting and they will be, I'm sure, frequent shoppers and visitors to our premier town centre.

"It was great to see kids with henna painted on their hands, grandparents eating from the various food stalls and entire families of all ethnicities enjoying all that Tooting has to offer.

"The weekend was a massive success which complemented the celebrations at the Notting Hill Carnival."