Whaplode Co-op shop now open with bakery and hot food

It's been almost a year in the building, but Whaplode's new-look Co-op finally opened on Thursday.

Lincolnshire Co-op has invested £1.6m in upgrading Whaplode Food Store and Filling Station, on High Road, which closed last April to allow the old 'Late Shop' to be demolished, the new, larger food store to be built and underground work to take place.

Manager Jamie Taylor (28) is delighted with the new store, which employs 12 member of staff - seven of them new positions.

"It's a lot bigger and we have a lot more range - so there's a lot more to think about!", Jamie joked.

"We now offer hot food and a bakery - it's been really good - we had 800 customers through the door on the first day."

There were goody bags for the first 300 customers spending over £15, plus bread and cake give-aways and vouchers for 5p off a litre of fuel at the neighbouring petrol station.

Retail space at the new store is double the size of the previous shop and there are an extra 1,500 product lines, including groceries, fresh and chilled food..

There is a PayPoint for bill payments and a free-to-use ATM for cash withdrawals. Customers can get cashback and buy stamps and the post box has been reinstated.