MORE than 100 people queued up outside of Aldi yesterday morning in anticipation of the new store opening.

It wasn't a stampede for fresh vegetables that got them out of bed so early but the promise that the first 100 lucky customers to go through the door would be going home with a golden ticket prize.

The supermarket chain's store’s grand opening on Hobley Drive in Stratton which had moved across the road from a smaller premises opened its doors at 8am with a ribbon-cutting ceremony performed by Aldi Store Manager, Mike Passmore and representatives from the Prospect Hospice.

The winning customers in the queue were handed a golden envelope to exchange for a variety of prizes.

Lucky shoppers walked away with prizes such as a 32-inch TV and DVD combi, a hamper, a smartphone and goodie bags.

Customers were also treated to free sausage and bacon sandwiches along with tea and coffee throughout the morning.

Store manager Mike Passmore said: “There was a great buzz at the store opening this morning, and customers really enjoyed our Golden Ticket event.

"The team and I were pleased to see our local customers again, and we saw some new faces too.

“We hope members of the local community enjoy their new look store, and we look forward to welcoming them in the coming months.”

Shoppers can now benefit from more than 160 car parking spaces and can expect to choose from over 1,250 product lines at the store, including a range of fresh produce, plus a wide range of weekly ‘specialbuys’- sale items which occur every Thursday and Sunday and can range from garden equipment to electrical products.

The initial bid to expand onto the former site of Heli-beds shop was placed in March of last year. The supermarket originally looked into refurbishing the previous store, but extensions were not possible because of site constraints.

Heli-Beds made an agreement to continue to trade in the Hobley Drive location until Aldi moved in.

Yesterday’s opening marked the end of the six-month project.

In conjunction with the store opening, Aldi donated a range of products to Prospect Hospice to support its Christmas Fair and also made £500 donation along with luxury hamper products, chocolate, chutneys, biscuits, champagne and whiskey to help with its fundraising activities.

The new development generated around ten new jobs and preserved those already working at the previous site.

Aldi is the UK’s sixth largest supermarket with more than 660 in the country and has stores in Drove Road, Latham Road, Shaw Road and Wellington Road.