The first real-life meeting of Purley Breakfast Club was so successful it will become a monthly event.

Almost 20 people met at Cafe Nino on Brighton Road at 9am on April 30 to enjoy their morning meal together.

The club started as a joke on Twitter, but has grown into a group of people who want to bring the community closer together.

Social media consultant Jonny Rose, 24, who organised the event along with nutritional therapist Susie White, said: "People have really embraced the idea.

"We all had a brilliant time together. It shows, once again, the power of social media in organising change for good in our communities."

Miss White, 35, who lives in Reigate and runs nutritional therapy company Blue Broccoli, said the pair were already making plans for the next breakfast club meeting. She added: "It was an incredibly informal event with people from all walks of life and I was pleased people felt relaxed enough to bring their children."

Mr Rose, who grew up in Purley, told the Croydon Advertiser in January that he planned to use social media to make his hometown shine in 2011.

The following month he used Twitter to organise the inaugural Tweet Up in the Foxley Hatch pub, and in March he held the town's first ever Twestival, which raised more than £360 for the South East Cancer Help Centre.

Purley Breakfast Club began as a joke on Twitter when Mr Rose began posting what he was eating each morning and Advertiser reporter Joanna Till tagged his posts with the hashtag #PurleyBreakfastClub.

People from across Purley, Coulsdon, Croydon and East Surrey then got involved, tweeting about their breakfasts each day and using the same hashtag.

To get involved, follow Mr Rose @98rosjon, Miss White @susie_white2001 and reporter Joanna Till @joannacroydonad, and include #purleybreakfastclub or #purleydinnerclub in your message.