Traders at Western International Market have finally made the short hop to their new home - although some are now working out of a building site.

The move went ahead despite some stallholders complaining they were not ready because building work had overrun thanks to contractors failing to deliver on time.

However, the general reaction to the new premises - a few hundred metres from the old site in Hayes Road, Southall, on the edge of the borough - was overwhelmingly positive.

Kelvin Garrett - owner of the market's oldest fruit 'n' veg stall Addey & Son, dating back five generations to 1880 - said he was delighted with the move.

"We were fully prepared and it's fantastic to have brand new facilities, which have proved very popular with customers," he added.

The transfer from the old, dilapidated market to slightly smaller premises has been more than a decade in the making.

Hounslow Council, which owns the site, nearly delayed the move for a week after some of the builders employed by individual stallholders missed their deadlines.

But tenants voted to stick to the scheduled opening date, and also rejected plans to keep the old market open, claiming any delay would be unfair on those stallholders who had completed their fit-out on time.

As a compromise, the council has allowed tenants to use cold storage facilities at the old market while they complete the fit-out of their new stalls.

George Bray, outgoing chairman of the Western International Market Tenants' Association, wrote to tenants: "Some people chose different contractors who appeared cheaper and promised the earth.

"Sadly, and without wishing to score points, it has to be said they could not deliver, the result being the scenario in which we are now forced to work in a partial building site.

"Many of the customers have told me how nice the new environment is and I am sure that, when everything settles down and the work is finished, Western International Market will remain one of the best, if not the best, wholesale horticultural markets in the UK."