The Tour of Britain's visit through Southwell and wider Nottinghamshire helped boost the economy by £4m

A new report reveals the Tour of Britain event boosted the Nottinghamshire economy by £4m and attracted a quarter of a million spectators to the county for race day.

The Nottinghamshire leg of last month’s ride ­— the UK’s premier cycling event, watched by a worldwide television audience of millions and featuring some of cycling’s top names ­— started in West Bridgford and ended in Mansfield.

It passed through Southwell and a number of Advertiser-area villages as it arced through four of Nottinghamshire’s districts or boroughs.

An economic report commissioned by the national organisers, reveals at £4m, the Tour of Britain Nottinghamshire stage generated an extra £0.6m on the 2017 event, which ended in Newark.

Organisers confirmed around 250,000 visitors lined the 215km route ­— an increase of 40,000 compared with last year’s turn-out.

The economic impact report, by Sweetspot Group Ltd, shows accommodation spend was by far the biggest contributor to the local economy with more than £3.2m spent.

More than 47% of those who turned out to watch the race had travelled from outside the county, which was up 8% on the previous year ­— therefore attracting more than 110,000 visitors to Nottinghamshire.

Race director Mick Bennett said: “Notts had the best crowds and best local buy-in of the whole tour.”

Other figures shown in the report include:

• Average daily spend for day visitors was more than £37 ­— up £10 on last year.

• Overnight visitors spent more than £203 on average ­— double the previous year.

• Almost two-thirds of spectators said the race had inspired them to cycle more.

• More than 60% of those attending came with their families ­— a10% rise on last year’s event.