Around 400 'flash mobbers' descended on Accrington town centre to stun weekend shoppers with a series of elaborate dances.

The event saw performers young and old emerge from the hustle and bustle of the town centre to dance to hits such as 'Walking On Sunshine' and 'Jump' before disappearing back into the afternoon crowds.

The event was organised on the internet and was staged by local arts project Liberating Empty Terrain.

Watch what happened in the video below ...

Organiser Gayle Knight was thrilled with the huge turnout.

She said: "It was absolutely brilliant to see the surprise and astonishment on people's faces, so many people stopped to see what was happening and a few of them were even filming it on their camera phones.

"The whole idea of the flash mob is for it to be random and for people to appear then disperse very quickly, and with Broadway being so busy on Saturday the effect was absolutely brilliant.

"We got very lucky with the weather. When you organise something like this in November you fear the British weather will have the last laugh, but thankfully it turned out to be a beautiful autumn day.

Flash mobbing is when a large group of people assemble in a public place and perform an unusual act for a brief period.

The craze has been brought to national attention by a series of T-Mobile adverts where large groups of people have assembled at famous landmarks, including Trafalgar Square, to sing and dance.

The Liberating Empty Terrain project is funded by the Arts Council and managed in the Accrington area by Hyndburn Council.

The scheme aims to encourage artistic projects across the area, and Gayle believes the flash mob event is a great example of grass-roots art boosting a local community.

She said: "The number of local people involved was really impressive from local dance groups right through to people who just turned up to give it a go.

"I was really blown away by how many boys came along and it's great to see such a mix of people from the local community getting involved in a performance like this.

"Plus when that many people come to the town centre, even if they only have lunch, it is a bonus for Accrington town centre."

Flash mobs involving thousands of people have also taken place on the London Underground and Time Square in New York.

The largest flash mob to date saw 25,000 people take part in the Worldwide Pillow Fight across 25 cities in March 2008.