VISITOR numbers to Harrow town centre during the pre-Christmas rush were higher than the year before.

There were more shoppers dropping by both St George’s and St Ann’s shopping centres, both in St Ann’s Road, Harrow, during the week before Christmas than in the same period in 2011.

Darren Harman, manager at St George’s Shopping Centre, said: “It has been a terrific December for St George’s with footfall for the month up by more than 2 per cent on 2012.

“We saw growth in footfall across most days during December but we saw a dramatic increase in the numbers of shoppers choosing to visit on Sundays.”

St Ann’s Shopping Centre saw a 1.7 per cent rise in visitor numbers.

Harrow Council welcomed the news and said people had been attracted to the town centre by a number of events it organised such as the Christmas lights switch on with The X Factor finalist Kye Sones, from Pinner, and Holly Cooper, one third of Mitsotu, another Harrow act in the same show.

Hundreds of visitors enjoyed browsing and buying gifts at a three-day European Christmas market paid for by the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund designed to help boost the suburb’s shopping precincts.

The council’s portfolio holder for regeneration and planning, councillor Keith Ferry, said: “Supporting the town centre and local businesses is a top priority for the council since they are the economic driving force behind the borough.

“These latest figures show the events we held in the town centre helped to attract thousands more to the town centre who may otherwise have done their Christmas shopping elsewhere.

“We created a diverse and interesting shopping experience for visitors and successfully encouraged local shoppers to remain loyal to their local town centre.”