Clear skies and warm weather made for a booming bank holiday in Brighton yesterday.

Local businesses braced themselves for a busy day of trading as blazing sunshine encouraged tourists to flock to the city.

And with the city centre streets packed and the beaches brimming with visitors, they weren’t left disappointed.

Greg Harman, of Madeira Cafe, said Brighton “felt like Brighton again” after an “amazing” day’s trading yesterday.

He said: “It’s been really, really good. Amazing, in fact. The sun is out and there’s just been a sea of people here all day.

“Tuesday and Wednesday are meant to be lovely too so let’s hope it continues.”

Seb Cole, of Boho Gelato Italian Ice Cream, said he had probably sold around 1,000 individual ice-creams yesterday. He said: “It’s been mad and really busy. It’s great.”

Bank holiday weekend is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for local firms and traders. But wet and grey weather on Saturday ensured that the weekend got off to a slow start.

Fairground operator Edward Henderson, 34, set up camp on Brighton seafront on Saturday but closed at 3pm because of a lack of customers.

But the scenes yesterday on Brighton beach painted a different picture.

Wes Burtenshaw, of the Bucket Beach Cafe, said the beach was “rammed”. He said: “We’ve had an above-average day but it’s not been mental or over the top.

“I’m not sure about everyone else but the nice weather today has made up for Saturday. The beach is rammed, people are smiling and the sun is out.”

Alan Sawyer, of Bar De La Mer, said: “It’s been good, we’re ticking over. It’s busy but it’s not as mad as it could be.

"It doesn’t really make up for the poor weather on Saturday though. Once you lose a day like that it’s difficult to recover from it.”