A historic shopping precinct in the heart of Norwich is celebrating soaring footfall figures thanks to a host of new businesses.

This year so far - up to September 11 - 1,428,677 people have visited Norwich's Royal Arcade - a 65.2pc increase on the previous year.

And in the 52 weeks to the same date, more than two million have passed through the Grade II-listed structure.

The total number of visitors in the week commencing September 5 was 44,566.

These figures include the days following the death of Queen Elizabeth II - with more than 11,000 visiting on Saturday and more than 6,000 on Sunday.

Simon Ashdown, director of LPC1 - the company managing the Royal Arcade - said: "Saturday and Sunday saw footfall reach near year-highs.

"Friday was a time to reflect on the Queen’s death so I'm sure many people stayed at home but a combination of good weather and the suspension of most spectator sport meant that people decided to venture out over the weekend."