Weston enjoyed one of its busiest ever bank holidays as people flocked to the seaside over the weekend.

All of Weston's hotels were full yesterday (Tuesday) and businesses reported a huge surge in demand, with some customers queuing more than an hour for fish and chips.

Town and business leaders are delighted trade is picking up after an ease in restrictions on May 17.

North Somerset Council's deputy leader, Mike Bell, is optimistic the district is on the road to recovery.

He said: "After an extremely difficult period it seems everyone is delighted to be on the road back to normality.

"It is still early days and the council has a long list of things to tackle to make Weston's economy as strong as possible, but the past few weeks and especially the bank holiday have shown demand is still here."

Weston Mercury: Weston's beach and seafront were crowded across the bank holiday as temperatures climbed above 20 degrees.Weston's beach and seafront were crowded across the bank holiday as temperatures climbed above 20 degrees. (Image: Nick Page Hayman)

Weston's beach and seafront were crowded during the three-day weekend, which the deputy leader described as "one of the busiest bank holidays".

Cllr Bell added: "The feedback from the one or two businesses I have spoken to has been positive and there were plenty under pressure to keep up with the demand of the last few days.

"The key message is that although we are bouncing back, it does not mean Covid has gone away. Businesses are doing a great job at keeping residents safe and long may that continue."

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Elsewhere, the chairman of Weston's Business Improve District (BID) echoed Cllr Bell's point that businesses may be bouncing back.

Paul Batts said: "The bank holiday was chaos in terms of demand, which is great for independent businesses. I spoke to people who had to queue for more than an hour for fish and chips on the seafront.

"Since May 17, it has been a mixed bag and it seems that footfall may be down but purchase values have increased.

"Weston has a lot to offer visitors and residents, especially its independent stores. The problem has been people are not looking out for them. I always hear people tell me that they did not know about certain stores, if you search you will find."