SAINSBURY'S opened the doors to a new store in Bude on Tuesday. The building was acquired from Somerfield in April 2009 and 55 new jobs have been created following the major refurbishment.

The 10,000 square feet store has four self-scan checkouts for customers with just a few items, a new bakery and a deli counter.

Long-serving colleague, Andrew Davies, performed red carpet duties and cut the ribbon to officially open the new supermarket at 9am on Tuesday.

Mr Davies, from Bude, had been working at the store for 15 years when it was owned by Somerfield. He said: "I'm delighted to be asked to open the new store and am happy that my last 15 years as a colleague have been recognised like this. I'm excited to be a part of the new Sainsbury's team and I look forward to many more years working at the store."

Store manager Leigh Nicholls said: "We're proud of our new store but the best part of opening is getting to know the local community. It's been great meeting new people and we're looking forward to making a positive difference. Andrew is the perfect example of a community minded person and we're happy to have such a long-serving expert here to show us the ropes!"

Doors opened at 9am and the first customers in store — Mr and Mrs Bernard and Ann Short of Kilkhampton — received a bottle of champagne from Mr Nicholls.