A campaign launch which encourages people to support High Wycombe town centre’s independent businesses has been hailed a success by organisers.

High Wycombe BID company’s 'cashmob' initiative saw shoppers collect cards from a range of independent outlets - with the chance of winning goodies in a series of hourly prize draws.

The event – which was attended by both the chairman of Wycombe District Council, Cllr Paul Turner and new mayor Cllr Maz Hussain – also saw the HWBIDCo team handing out copies of their new ‘Best Little Indies’ guide.

Friday’s launch marks the start of a longer campaign by HWBIDCo aimed at finding the town’s best independent business.

Shoppers can vote online for their ‘best little indie’ before September 1.

HWBIDCo manager Melanie Williams hopes the campaign will help highlight some of the town’s hidden gems.

She said: "Independent businesses bring personality and character to our high street. There are a huge number of unique, independent businesses in High Wycombe town centre, and we're delighted that so many got involved in last Friday’s event, and that so many loyal customers came along to support them."

Prizes for the raffle on the day were generously donated by a host of local independent businesses – including The Massage Company, The Front Room, Lata Lata, The Works, Kappad Restaurant, Reflections, La-Koco Coffee and Ruby Moon.

Discussing the campaign’s impact on local businesses, Mark Coldham, owner of The Massage Company in Castle Street, said: “As a new business in the town this event has been fantastic for us to tell people who we are what we’re all about.

"We pride ourselves on being a local company so it’s great to be involved in local events and share our quirky little town with our fellow ‘indies’”.

Meanwhile Craft Coop director Deborah Jones said: “We [Craft Coop] are passionate about supporting local businesses, so we were really excited to be involved in HWBIDCo's cashmob event.

"It’s such a fabulous way to showcase the town’s variety of indie shops. Independent businesses really are the heart of the community - local people own them, local people work in them - and money spent in them generally stays in the community.”

To vote for your favourite independent businesses before September 1, visit tiny.cc/lovelocal or find out more about HWBIDCo’s campaigns by following @hwbidco on Facebook or Instagram.