A brand new auction house and gallery has now opened up in a former Co-Op on the edge of Swindon.

RWB Auctions, located along Royal Wootton Bassett High Street, opened its doors to the public on Monday, January 15.

The site also plans to open a Bistro in on the ground floor in February.

Manager of the Auction House, Steve Bucknell said: “Fours years of hard work, perseverance, blood, sweat and tears (has gone into RWB Auctions)."

The opening of the auction house is a novelty to the town and provides a facility for residents of Swindon which does not have an auction house either.

The new attraction boasts a large auction hall with an art gallery on the first floor. The art gallery is attached to a terrace which looks out onto the Wiltshire countryside.

Owner Jon White explained that he has planned auctions to be held on the same day that the market is held along the town's High Street.

He said: “I am hugely relieved that we are finally here.

“It has been such a journey to get to a point where we are now open to the public. This is a very exciting time for the auction house and for the town.”

Mr White hopes that the business will bring people all across Wiltshire to Royal Wootton Bassett and hopes for it to have a knock-on effect on other businesses.

“I love the town, Wootton Bassett has a great amount of community support, always has done. The support from locals and other businesses has been fantastic and I think everyone has been eagerly anticipating the opening.”

The team behind the auction house have been working towards the opening for around four years.

Mr White is a Royal Wootton Bassett local and was an advocate for the Co-op to stay open but when he found out that it was going to close, he thought it would be a great opportunity to start the new business.

Mr Bucknell also said: “It is not just an auction house.

“It is a place people can spend some quality time here, they could even spend a whole day here.”