FOOTFALL in Ealing Broadway dropped by 7.4 per cent last week after the Westfield shopping centre opened - but the town centre still fared better than the national average.

Special cameras mounted at head height next to pavements in Ealing Broadway counted people moving past 190,624 times in the week beginning on November 3, down from 205,823 the same time last year.

Similar cameras all round the country recorded an average drop in footfall of 11.8 per cent compared to the same time in 2007.

The busiest time of the week was on Saturday at 4pm, followed by peaks on Sunday at 2pm and Friday at 2pm and 6pm.

The figures have given hope to business leaders, who had feared a much bigger impact from the combined effect of the economic downturn and the opening of the new mega-mall.

For the full story pick up the Gazette on Friday.