A new Lidl has opened its doors for the first time, as shoppers from across town flock to the store to win big prizes.
The Lidl, on Brinkworth Road in Royal Wootton Bassett, has been almost three years in the making.
Finally, on Thursday, February 5, 2026, residents had the chance to see inside for the first time, and win free prizes.
The new store was officially opened at 8am by the town mayor, Councillor Steve Bucknell, who cut the ribbon along with pupils from St Bartholomew's Primary Academy and players from the Royal Wootton Bassett Town FC Youth Under-8 girls team.
Early shopper Ceri, who was the first customer to take home one of Lidl's free mystery boxes, said: "I have been excited about this store opening for so long.
"I was watching it thinking is it going to be open in time for Christmas, and then when I heard it was today, I left work early just to get here for the opening. I can't believe I actually won something."
Alan-Lee Nash, who was the first hamper winner, said: "I thought I would just come in to do my shopping and I have won a hamper - it's amazing!
"I live just around the corner and I've been watching them build this for ages so I'm glad it's finished now."
From the shiny signs at the entrance to the staff behind the tills, it's clear that this new Lidl store has been built specifically with Royal Wootton Bassett in mind.
Adam, area manager for Lidl, explained: "When we were filling the roles, myself and the store manager carried out the interviews in the council offices and we wanted to hire people who work and live here.
"This is about trying to keep the custom this side of the motorway. We have taken on a good number of people in Royal Wootton Bassett and we're really pleased with the reception from the public this morning."
Brand ambassador, Candida Nichols, who was out greeting customers and working on the 'spin the wheel' prize win game, added: "Already this morning, we've had 15 new people sign up to the Lidl Plus app to try and win, and 30 people who were already signed up and have had a go.
"We'll be here for three days giving away free prizes. There's free fruit and veg, £5 off shopping vouchers, a free bakery item giveaway and mystery boxes."
Prior to the store opening, some residents had raised concerns that the new Lidl, which is just a 10-minute walk from an Aldi, could draw customers away from existing businesses in the town.
However, speaking to shoppers on Thursday morning, the reaction was only positivity towards both competing superstores.
Robert Collis, chairman of the parish council, said: "You've usually got quite a split between the Aldi people and the Lidl people, but I actually think having the two so close together means a lot of people who can't find a certain product in one can pop over the road and try the other.
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"A lot of people said they were worried it would take away from our other town supermarkets, but Sainsburys in the town centre is overperforming so I don't think that this will detract from that.
"We welcome this store to our parish. There's a lot of development planned for the town, not all of it is good, but we're quite happy about this one."
The Lidl store will be open from 8am–10pm Monday to Saturday and 10am-4pm on Sundays, with prizes and freebies available until Saturday, February 7.
The adjacent country park is not yet open, but landscaping has been complete and play equipment installed.
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