AN Olympic silver medalist is set to star at the opening of Taunton's new Aldi store later this week.

Pentathlete Samantha Murray will host the grand opening of Aldi’s Taunton store on Thursday morning (November 16).

Samantha Murray, who lives and trains in Bath, and won Olympic Silver at the London 2012 games, said: “I’m really looking forward to opening the new Taunton store. I’m a keen Aldi shopper myself and can’t wait to see its festive range in store.”

The ceremony will also feature a guest appearance from Aldi’s family mascot, Kevin the Carrot, who will give one lucky customer a Christmas surprise.

Kevin will be hidden away inside one of 100 Christmas crackers presented to shoppers on the morning of the opening, with the lucky winner receiving a £100 shopping voucher courtesy of the store.

Meanwhile, local mental health charity Mind is set to receive a donation of refreshments and arts and crafts equipment from the store manager Tom Tulley.

The new 1,254 sqm store will also provide shoppers with 94 parking bays for customer convenience.

Around 20 new jobs have been created with the store launch and Aldi is still recruiting for a variety of roles in the area, including Store Assistants and Apprentices.

Tom Tulley, store manager, said: “We can’t wait to open the new Taunton store.

"A lot of hard work has gone into bringing the community its new store and we’re delighted shoppers can soon find the top quality, award-winning products we offer in time for Christmas.

"We can promise customers some fantastic, festive Specialbuys in the coming weeks, so we look forward to seeing everyone in store.”

The new store is located at Bridgwater Road, Taunton, TA2 8BA, will be open from 8am until 10pm from Monday to Saturday, and from 10am until 4pm on Sundays.