Sherlock Holmes fans gathered in London over the weekend in a bid to break the Guinness World Record for the number of people dressed as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective.

Organised by the Undershaw Preservation Trust, a charity set up to protect Conan Doyle's Surrey residence Undershaw, 113 people turned up dressed as Sherlock Holmes.

There is currently no world record for the greatest number of people dressed as Sherlock Holmes and the Trust will now awaiting confirmation from Guinness that their attempt has been successful.

While he did not attend the event due to filming commitments, Mark Gatiss, creator of the BBC's Sherlock series, said in a message: "Saving Undershaw has been a three pipe problem but we solved it! Huge thanks to everyone who's worked so hard to preserve Conan Doyle's legacy & splendid home.

"Good luck today. If you look closely you might see Benedict Cumberbatch under one of those deerstalkers or maybe Norris Macwhirter!"