ONE of the UK's Olympic rowing heroes has opened a new Aldi store in Malmesbury.

Team GB Olympic gold medallist Anna Watkins cut the all-important red ribbon alongside pupils from St Joseph's Primary School as the Festival Way store opened its doors to customers at 8am on Thursday.

The new store will be run by store manager Tom and a team of 24 colleagues from the local community and will serve Malmesbury and the surrounding villages.

Store manager Tom said: “It’s been a wonderful morning here at the opening of Aldi Malmesbury.

"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’m also thrilled that we’ve been able to support St Joseph's Primary School through our partnership with Team GB.”

In celebration, Anna Watkins gave away complimentary bags of fresh fruit and vegetables from Aldi’s Super 6 range to the first 30 customers in the queue, before delivering an inspirational assembly for pupils at St Joseph's Primary School.

The move was part of the supermarket’s Get Set to Eat Fresh initiative which has already inspired over 1.9 million school children aged 5-14 years to learn more about the benefits of cooking fresh, healthy food with their families.

The bronze and gold medallist from the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games focused on the benefits of eating healthy food, and the importance of exercise and believing in yourself.

She also talked to pupils about her experience of competing as an Olympian and shared her challenging training regime.

In addition, Aldi Malmesbury offered pupils at the local primary school the opportunity to win a £20 gift voucher to spend at the new store.

Children at St Joseph's Primary School were tasked with creating a poster to show what healthy eating means to them.

Anna Watkins announced the winner, Ava aged seven, during the assembly and she was presented with a £20 Aldi voucher.

She said: “I’ve had a fantastic time opening the new Aldi this morning. It was an honour to officially open the store and welcome customers inside for the first time.

“It was great to speak with the children at St Joseph's Primary School about the importance of eating healthily and how it can be fun to plan and prepare meals as a family. Hopefully I’ve also managed to inspire the pupils to keep active and try different sports.”

The new Aldi store offers large chillers and freezers dedicated to fresh, British meat products, a ‘Food to Go’ section at the front of the store, and an exclusive section full of health and beauty products.

Malmesbury customers can also take a walk down the ‘Aisle of Aldi’, where they will find legendary special buys which are available every Thursday and Sunday.

During opening week, the store will be offering a wide range of home accessories, including velvet stools for £39.99, tripod floor lamps for £49.99 and wire shelves for £14.99.

The new Aldi store is calling on local charities and food banks in Malmesbury to register with Neighbourly, a community engagement platform that links businesses to charitable organisations in the local community.

Local charities that register will be able to collect surplus food and perishable products, such as fruit, vegetables and baked goods, up to seven days a week.

Any charities in the area that would like to partner up with the new Aldi store should email aldi@neighbourly.com.

The new store is located at Festival Way, Malmesbury, SN16 9GN. It is open from Monday to Saturday 8am-10pm and on Sunday 10am-4pm.