Shopping Malls poach shoppers.

The West End has become a congested, overcrowded, stressful and baffling place to shop, with many people who live in the suburbs avoiding it all together in favour of out-of-town shopping malls.

A major report today paints a gloomy picture of the capital's traditional retail heartland and has prompted calls for major changes. According to research from the New West End Company, which represents traders in Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street, the number of out-of-towners who never trek into central London has risen from 28 per cent to 36 per cent.

Interviews with 1,000 shoppers also revealed that "many find the density of road traffic oppressive, leading to noise and general pollution and making it difficult and dangerous". Major Ken Livingstone, also acknowledges that "suburban shopping centres such as Kingston have clearly raised the bar". The report goes on to say that West End stores cannot hope to win back shoppers lost to malls such as Lakeside with huge improvements.

Just one in 10 shoppers said they could happily browse for four hours or more. One respondent commented: I find spending too long in London gives me a headache. Lack of washroom facilities, the difficulty of finding your way around unpleasant public transport congestion also comes under fire.

What shoppers cannot stand about the West End:

• 73 per cent of shoppers feel overwhelmed and exhausted after a visit to the West End
• 63 per cent say they have been jostled on the pavement
• 63 per cent find it difficult to locate a safe, clean washrooms
• 58 per cent are very hassled by hawkers