West End's traffic-free Christmas

'Naked' models on Oxford Street promoting the traffic-free day

Two of the most famous shopping streets in the UK will be traffic-free for the first time to help Christmas shoppers.

Both Oxford Street and Regent Street in London's West End will be free of vehicles on Saturday 2 December.

The area attracts about 40 million shoppers over the festive period and the organisers of the day, the West End Company, hope to attract even more.

The day has been dubbed West End VIP Day - standing for Very Important Pedestrians.

Oxford Street will be closed to traffic from Portman Street to Tottenham Court Road, with Regent Street shut between Margaret Street and Piccadilly Circus. Buses will be diverted.

Redevelopment plans

The idea is part of major plans to draw customers back to London's main shopping areas and challenge competition from increasingly popular out-of-town retail parks.

Other plans include the redevelopment of Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road Tube stations and converting Marble Arch into a large public space.

More ambitious plans include having a tram link running along Oxford Street.

West End VIP Day runs from 1030 GMT to 1730 GMT.