Hundreds of shoppers queued early for a golden ticket as a new Aldi store opened its doors in Diss for the first time.

The town's mayor Keith Kiddie launched the new branch of the discount retailer at 8am today, while the first 100 people in the queue were able to get their hands on a golden ticket for prizes ranging from Aldi goodie bags to electrical goods, such as tablet PCs and IB smartphones.

David Blatcher, 72, from Diss, was number 44 in the queue and received a goodie bag.

He said he was a regular customer at Aldi and used to visit the retailer's Thetford store, adding he believed Aldi provided good quality goods at cheap prices.

'When I went all the way to Thetford, the jam was fantastic. It is like a good quality preserve, but at a cheap price and generally the range at Aldi is of a good quality as well,' he added.

Antonio De Sousa, 60, of Roydon, said he also shopped at the Thetford Aldi and said he liked the look of the new Diss store, though he believed the vegetable section needed a better selection.

He added: 'It is good value for money and the service is quick. There is no messing, you can go in and out.

'There is no waiting 20 minutes at the tills.'

Stephen Dade, 54, his wife Susan, 49 and their daughter Bernadette, 24, from Roydon were also among the first visitors.

Mrs Dade said the store would help to attract more shoppers to Diss and would provide more competition for the Tesco and Morrisons supermarkets in nearby Victoria Road.

The Aldi store has replaced the Co-Op which previously stood at the Mere Street site, but closed eight months ago with the loss of 37 jobs and Mrs Dade felt the new supermarket was better than the Co-Op.

She added: 'It is nice to see the competition and it is going to bring prices down.'

The new supermarket has created 35 jobs.

What do you think of the new Aldi? Email dominic.bareham@archant.co.uk.