A revolution in food shopping could be coming to Canterbury - offering hugely discounted prices for hard-up families.

Nifties sells perfectly edible food destined to be dumped by supermarkets and suppliers.

The unique business is the brainchild of former Canterbury College student Nathaniel Richards, who has opened his first shop in Dover.

Dad-of three Mr Richards, who grew up in Aylesham, knows all too well what it's like to be struggling. He was made redundant in 2015 and found himself having to visit a food bank for his family.

But now his enterprise is in the running for a share of a £1 million grant to expand the stores.

Nifties' aim is to help put food on the tables of struggling families and prevent the huge waste, estimated to be £13 million worth, going to landfill in the UK every year.

"Much of it is near its sell by date or slightly damaged but it's completely unnecessary waste," said Mr Richards, who is a Dover district councillor.

"For example, I got a call from a farmer the other day who offered us thousands of onions a big supermarket chain didn't want because they were too small.

"The amount of food waste is crazy. I cannot blindly accept there is a huge source of food being thrown away for no good reason.

"I started by making a phone calls to a few cash and carries asking about the items they are throwing away because of their appearance rather than safety. Luckily, one company invited us over to take them away and is has grown from there."

Mr Richards will shortly be opening a shop in Thanet and has his eye on a site in Wincheap.

"Canterbury is one of our main target locations because although it seems an affluent city, many people are obviously struggling because of the demand on the food bank.

"Our intention is not to compete with them but work together and help take some of the pressure off them."

But he says his business could grow more rapidly if his bid for funding with the Virgin Media Business Pitch 2018 is successful.

"We are currently leading the small/start-up business voting for a chance to pitch Nifties directly to Sir Richard Branson, which would be amazing," he said.

To vote for Nifties, go to the Virgin Media pitch page.