A TWO-TIME Olympic gold medalist was in Barrow yesterday to open the town’s new Aldi.

British cyclist Philip Hindes MBE officially opened the new store, situated on Hollywood Retail Park, by cutting the ribbon at 8am in front of a growing queue of shoppers.

The store is the second Aldi to open in the Barrow area and will be run by store manager, Steve Storey, along with a team of 30 colleagues.

Standing at 1,364sqm of retail space, the supersized store's grand opening comes after Aldi's move from Hindpool Retail Park.

Store manager, Steve Storey, said: "Compared to the previous store our staff numbers have increased by 12.

"I’d also like to say a big thank you to Philip Hindes for joining us."

As well as performing his opening ceremony duties, Mr Hindes also gave out complimentary bags of fresh fruit and vegetables from Aldi’s famous Super 6 range to the first 30 customers in the queue.

The new store concept includes large chillers and freezers, a Food-to-Go section at the front of the store, and a fixture along the back wall, showcasing Aldi’s award-winning Beers, Wines and Spirits as well as a section full of health and beauty products.

Olympic cyclist, Philip Hindes, added: “It’s been an honour to be a part of Aldi's opening in Barrow.

"I’ve had a great time talking to both the adults and children of the town about all things healthy eating along with my experiences of the Olympics.”

Barrow couple Susan and Neal Bradley, were keen to enter the new store after queueing since 7.30am.

Neal said: "We started queueing half an hour before the opening ceremony.

"It's a massive store which is much more impressive than the previous Aldi."

Aldi, which is Britain’s fifth largest and fastest growing supermarket, has more than doubled its market share since 2010.

The company will open 65 new stores and by 2025 will operate over 1,200 stores.

The new Barrow store will be open on Monday-Saturday from 8am - 10pm and 10am-4pm on Sunday.