THEY may not be Olympic champions, but staff at Oxfordshire's newest Aldi store certainly get a gold medal for enthusiasm.

Dozens of staff cheered triumphantly at 8am this morning as Team GB canoeist Liam Heath - who may have felt something like a fish out of water - cut the ribbon on the supermarket's newest store in Faringdon.

The store has opened on the same site as a Waitrose for the first time ever at the new Faringdon retail park on the A420 entrance to the town.

There is also a Costa Coffee on the site.

Olympic Gold medalist Mr Heath was joined by Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire Time Stevenson OBE at the 8am opening ceremony.

Mr Heath said it was 'an honour' to open the supermarket.

He also said the range of 'high quality and healthy produce available' at 'affordable prices' was 'sure to be gratefully recieved by the local community'.

Robert Blades, who travelled from Kingston Bagpuize to be among the store's first ever customers, said: "I came here to get my son an action camera. The Faringdon store is now the nearest Aldi to me so I shall definitely come back to do my weekly shop."

The Faringdon store forms part of Aldi's plans to have a store in every major town and city across Britain.