Lewisham welcomed book lovers with open arms for World Book Night last week.

Nationally, the event saw 46,000 enthusiastic volunteers donating books to 2 million people, in an effort to promote and encourage reading.

Glass Mill Leisure Centre was the south east London stage with authors such as Dreda Say Mitchell and Nadeem Masood reading extracts from their work.

Also featured was Sheila Bugler’s Hunting Shadows, a psychological thriller about the disappearance of a young girl from Lee. It was presented alongside Nadeem Masood’s account of the 2012 Olympics, Making Pandemonium, capturing the Olympic torch being carried from Deptford to Lewisham.

A community book-giving programme also offered volunteers the chance to exchange their own cherished literary finds to share with others.

Author David Nicholls, who wrote One Day, said: "I passionately believe that nothing is quite as immersive, affecting or exciting as the experience of reading a wonderful book."