A NEW B&M store has opened its doors in Golborne creating 36 jobs.

The store was declared officially open today (Friday, June 19) by VIP guest, Jess Murray, who was nominated to open the store by her neighbours as a thank you for all her hard work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The discount retailer has taken over the former Lidl on High Street, which closed and moved further up the road last year.

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VIP guest Jess, who has trained to be a primary school teacher, opened the store.

On hearing the news of the lockdown she set about fundraising for the NHS charities, leading the Thursday clap for her neighbours; as well as entertaining local families with quizzes; socially distanced street parties and even dressed up as the Easter bunny for a kid’s Easter Egg Hunt.

When nominating Jess one person said: “Before lockdown, many of us hardly knew each other. Now we've formed friendships and it feels like we all know our neighbours! Jess has brightened up the long dull weeks for our kids and us and given us something to look forward to. We will never forget this time and Jess has made it more special for us all with the time and effort she's put in.”

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Speaking about her nomination Jess, said: “I was speechless when I was told the news, it’s lovely that my local community have nominated me as a hero.

“I’ve really enjoyed fundraising and coming up with activities for local families. I think it’s really important to have a strong community spirit during times like these and the response I’ve had has been overwhelming.”

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Jess received a VIP welcome before taking centre stage to cut the ribbon and declare the store officially open. She was also given £250 vouchers to treat herself in store as thank you for all her hard work and commitment to the community.

The new store's manager, Lynn Madden, added: “We’ve had hundreds of nominations and there are so many amazing people in the community that it was hard to pick just one winner. Jess stood out for us because she’s made a huge difference to people’s lives of the past few weeks and is an inspirational young lady.

“We’re thrilled with the customer feedback on the store so far, it’s lovely that everyone is so excited for us to be in Golborne. We’re looking forward to welcoming people into their new B&M over the coming weeks.”

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The store has created 36 new jobs.

It features a wide variety of branded products including toys, food & drink, pet range, health & beauty and homewares.

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