MORE stalls have been added to a bustling street market which is fast becoming one of the most popular and successful in Essex.

The ten new stalls at Rayleigh’s market, held on a Wednesday, are in addition to the 15 already in place in the taxi rank attracting hundreds of customersaweek.

Stalls selling perfume, flowers and speciality clothing have been added to stalls specialising in freshly baked food, a butchers and bed linen.

One stall holder, Pat Thorpe, usually sells her stock of perfume at London’s famous Petticoat Lane market, but was tempted to try Rayleigh.

She said: “I really like it here and we’ve had quite a few inquiries already today.

“I want to keep coming back, so I really hope the expansion takes off. Rayleigh is getting a really good reputation in London for its market now.”

Since the market moved from the car park opposite Holy Trinity Church in late 2011, stallholders and shops have noticed a dramatic increase in the number of customers.

Paul Tindal, of Plant Perfections, opened his second stall at the market as part of the expansion.

He said: “The market has a great atmosphere and it’s nice that it’s small and compact. It’s a great place to work.

“The idea is for it to build and build and to get bigger. It can be a goldmine here some weeks.

“I think the more stalls here the better.”

Another new trader Lee Raymonds, who sells extra-sized clothing at his stall Love Ur Curves, said since the move, he’s wanted to bring his stall to the town.

He said: “We’ve got a good a spot here by the traffic lights.

It’s something a bit different for the town and the shops really like it here which is great.”

The town council’s market committee chairman, Dave Sperring, said plans were also under way to increase occasional weekend markets in the lead up to Christmas.

He added: “We have been in negotiation with Essex and Rochford District councils for many months and I am very pleased to say our determination to bring the market into the High Street and then to extend it further has paid off.

“It’s good for increasing the footfall in Rayleigh town centre at this very difficult time for local businesses.”

The town council’s chairman Ian Ward was delighted with what he saw during a visit to the newly expanded market.

He said: “We’ve driven this forward because it’s so important. It’salong view that we’re taking because we want to revitalise the street and to encourage stall holders to put down roots here."