Mayor of Ellesmere Councillor Brian Knight and Tesco manager Tracy Sherridan cut a cake to officially open Ellesmere’s new Tesco

Ellesmere’s mayor chugged up the canal in style today as part of celebrations to mark the opening of the town’s new Tesco store.

Councillor Brian Knight was aboard a narrowboat which arrived outside the Canal Way store for an official ribbon cutting ceremony.

The store opened at 8am today, and people had queued outside with their trollies from about 7.15am. The opening of the new store has created 140 jobs.

Tracy Sheridan, store manager, said: “We opened at 8am and everything has gone really, really well.

“We had quite a big queue of customers, more than 25, and we gave the first man through the door a box of chocolates and the first lady a bunch of flowers.

“The queue of customers with trollies was stood outside from about 7.15am.”

As part of the launch celebrations, customers were being treated to champagne and a celebratory cake.

The new store will stock a range of food items including fresh fish, dairy, fruit and veg, frozen food and a hot chicken counter. Non-food ranges will include CDs, DVDs, mobile phones, health & beauty items, cookware, homeware and stationery.

The store will be open Monday to Saturday 8am until 10pm and 10am until 4pm on Sundays. More than 2,500 people applied to work at the new store, meaning an average of 17 people applied for each job.