Business is booming at caravan parks in Leicestershire as holidaymakers swap foreign shores for the great outdoors.

Park owners say they are fully booked over the Easter school holidays and have seen a boom in trade since the credit crunch began as people favour cheaper breaks.

At East Midlands Airport, 9,000 fewer passengers flew off on holiday, compared with the same time last year.

Lesley Kind, who runs Whetstone Gorse Fisheries and Caravan Site, in Whetstone, with husband, Martin, says they have been booked up for the Easter holidays for more than seven weeks.

The site has room for 26 vans, a converted barn with a bar and stage and a licence to hold up to 400 caravans at special events.

She said: "We're in a very good location and a lot of people like to come here to fish.

"We're also noticing that more and more people are booking spaces with us.

"Over the past nine months, we've seen bookings go up. I think the fact the exchange rate is quite poor at the moment is making people think twice about going on holiday abroad."

Diane Swain, manager of Quorn Lodge Caravan Club, on Loughborough Road, Quorn, said they were busier than ever.

She said: "We're finding that more people want to caravan in the UK rather than driving down to France or Spain.

"Petrol prices are an issue and the fact the pound is so weak is meaning people cannot afford to go abroad so they are going to local caravan sites instead.

"We're booked up over Easter, mostly with people who are travelling here to spend time with family members living close by."

Steve Tizzard, general manager of The Caravan Company, on St Margaret's Way, Leicester, revealed that sales were up by 25 per cent on last year.

He said the average price people were paying for caravans at the moment was about £6,000.

He said: "Caravanning is becoming more and more popular.

"A lot of people are buying caravans for the first time because it's far more expensive to holiday abroad these days.

"The pound is so weak against the euro right now and people are realising they can buy a caravan which they can keep forever, for the same price as a family holiday abroad.

"This is traditionally the busiest time of year for us as well because we're approaching summer and a lot of people traditionally have their first caravanning holidays around this time of year."

Source: thisisleicestershire.co.uk