Customers may have wondered what Batman, Wonderwoman and Superman were doing in a toy shop car park.

But hundreds of costumed superheroes descended on Toys 'R' Us in Brent Cross to help set a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people dressed as DC Comics characters over a 24-hour period on Saturday.

The fans met at the same time as thousands around the world for the massive event, organised by DC and Warner Bros.

While superheroes came together in Australia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Spain, Brazil, France, America and in other countries, the UK hosted meet-ups in Birmingham, Warrington, Cardiff, and Hendon.

Officials from Guinness World Records are currently calculating the total number of people who got involved.

As well as the most famous names from the DC canon, costumes included The Flash, Green Lantern, Supergirl, Aquaman, Cyborg, and Green Arrow.

John Miller from Elstree went to the Brent Cross with his wife Elaine and sons Johnny, three, and six-month-old George.

He said: “Johnny is really into superheroes so we thought it was the perfect event for him. We told him to get into his favourite superhero outfit - as he has many - but we didn't tell him where we were going as we wanted it to be a surprise.

“He was very excited when he saw the other superheroes at Toys 'R' Us. The atmosphere was lovely and everyone involved was really into it and made it a special experience.

“He got his picture taken with the adult characters and got his face painted. We also played lots of superhero games and he won quite a few prizes.”

Jackie Pointon, Brent Cross Toys 'R' Us store manager, said: “The people who came created such a great buzz at the store.

“There were all ages taking part, full families dressed up as Batman from a six-month-old baby dressed in a romper to a whole family dressed as Batman and Robin. The little ones really loved their Superman outfits. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many comic characters in full dress-up in the store.”