THE Social Purley initiative took a major step forward on Tuesday night, with its first town centre get-together.

More than two dozen people who were already interacting on Twitter met face to face for the first time at the Foxley Hatch pub on Russell Hill Road to get to know each other better.

Among those present were business owners, politicians and members of residents' associations.

Social media consultant Jonny Rose, 24, described the evening as a runaway success. He said: "We hoped it would be popular, but we have been overwhelmed.

"It was great to see so many people from so many professions getting to know each other and coming together for the good of Purley."

Mr Rose set up the Social Purley initiative with his friend James Brooks, 22, in December last year. The pair began by reaching out to Purley residents on Twitter, and are running a series of workshops teaching people in the area how to use social media.

"It is amazing how quickly and enthusiastically people in Purley have embraced Twitter," said Mr Brooks, who also works in social media. "Our aim is to use social media to bring people together, to make our community stronger and our businesses better."