A long-awaited Aldi supermarket has opened its doors to customers for the first time.

The huge store in Faversham, off the A251 at under-construction Perry Court development, welcomed customers from 8am.

The launch of the branch in the newly-formed Tettenhall Way brings 25 jobs to the area.

It is the first of the commercial units at the site to open, with a neighbouring Premier Inn hotel currently being built.

They form part of the 310-home Perry Court development, which as well as including the three-storey hotel, will boast a 66-bed care home and a parade of shops.

New Aldi store manager Simon Possee said: “It’s been a wonderful morning here at the opening of Aldi Faversham.

"It was lovely to welcome our new customers into store and I look forward to meeting more of the community in the coming weeks.

“I’d like to thank our customers for following the social distancing guidelines we have in place to ensure the health and safety of both our customers and colleagues.”

As with all major shops, Perspex screens have been installed at the tills and social distancing reminders are dotted around the store.

A traffic light system to control the number of people going in and out is also in operation.

Full planning permission for the new supermarket was granted last year despite concerns from rivals Tesco which branded the proposals "harmful" and suggested independent shops in the town would suffer as a result.

Access to the supermarket is off the new roundabout on the A251 on the approach to the town.

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