Count Dracula, a serial killer and a witch were sending shivers down the spine among the stalls at Stevenage Indoor Market on Saturday.

Stallholders, customers and children all dressed up to raise money for Lister Hospital’s Macmillan Cancer Centre, with traders competing for ‘best-dressed’ prizes to add a touch of competition to the fun.

Chairman of the market traders association Peter Mason said: “It went really well. There were lots of people about and lots of kids had their faces painted.”

Saturday was the first time the St George’s Way market has celebrated Hallowe’en this way and Pete plans on making it a permanent fixture in years to come.

Peter, who owns The Next Chapter which sells books, DVDs and CDs, said: “We are definitely doing this again. It was a fantastic day and we got a tremendous response from people, plus we managed to raise money for charity.

“We have raised money for the children’s ward in the past and as many of us here know people who have been affected by cancer we decided to do something for the centre at the Lister.”

To find out more about the market visit stevenageindoormarket.co.uk.