A NEW Aldi which opened in Rodbourne yesterday had a queue of 50 shoppers at 8am eager to try out the new store.

And those who braved the early morning cold were greeted at the entrance to the new shop by Olympian Heather Stanning OBE, who won gold for women’s rowing at the 2012 games in London.

The first 30 people through the doors at the new shop, off Rodbourne Road, were rewarded with a free bag of fruit and vegetables as part of a campaign to promote healthy eating.

Sylvia Blake, 73, from Rodbourne, told the Adver: “It’s been good, I don’t normally shop here but I live around the corner.

“I struggled to get to the other big supermarkets on the bus for too long. Everyone else is too far, this is absolutely ideal for me.

“I need a shop close, especially this time of year. There was also a very nice lady on the till.”

Gold medal-winning rower Heather said: “A big thanks to everyone involved with this morning’s opening, including the Aldi Swindon team. It was fantastic to meet so many lovely shoppers."

The opening of the store, which brought 25 jobs into the area, adds to the five other Aldis across Swindon.

Will Jones, area manager for the chain in Swindon, told the Advertiser: “This morning has gone really smoothly, we had about 50 people waiting outside even before the doors opened at 8am.

“Our first customer was here at 6am waiting outside and it wasn’t that warm this morning either.

“We’re growing massively across the UK, we’ve got five stores in Swindon now.

"We wouldn’t be doing that if people weren’t enthusiastic about coming in to shop with us."

He added: “All the people that work here are from Swindon as well, a lot of them live within walking distance.”

Aldi was given the go-ahead in June by Swindon Borough Council and Highworth Town Council.

But a legal challenge from the local Midcounties Cooperative, the only other local supermarket, has meant it will be debated again by the borough council’s planning committee on November 13.

Opening hours at the new store will be 8am to 10pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 4pm on Sundays.

The supermarket hopes to open another 70 new stores in 2018 alone and is aiming to have 1,000 stores running by 2022. It is now the fifth largest supermarket in the UK and the fastest growing.

Plans for a store in Highworth are currently being fought out by residents and the town council who are desperately calling for a bigger store.