ONE of the country’s fastest growing chain stores opened a new branch in Kendal at the weekend, creating 40 jobs and the opportunity for shoppers to snap up a bargain.

Discount retailer Home Bargains - owned by the TJ Morris family firm - moved in to the Highgate property left vacant by Woolworth’s demise and opened following a £500,000 refit on Saturday.

Five former Woolworths employees have been given jobs at the store, which has been drawing the crowds with its ‘top brands at low prices’.

Aileen Mason, who worked at Woolworths for 17 years before it closed down, is one woman to benefit from the change-over - she has been promoted from service team leader to assistant manager.

“I’d been at Woolworths for a ong time so it was quite traumatic when it closed and I was out of work for 12 weeks,” she said. “I was a team leader before and now I’m assistant manager and I’m enjoying it. We are all feeling positive about the future.”

Manager Mike Traynor, who used to work at the town’s Focus do-it-yourself store, said: “The opening went really well and we are really busy - I think the bargains are drawing the customers in. TJ Morris, which owns Home Bargains, has been going for 30 years and it just seems to be growing and growing. It’s an up-and-coming company.”

Joe Morris, operations director for TJ Morris, said spending patterns over the initial few days of opening indicated a bright future for the shop - the latest in a portfolio of 180 nationwide.

“We didn’t make a big song and dance about the opening but we were really busy and there was a high customer spend which bodes well for the future,” he said. “We’ve had some great feedback about the refit which was quite a major project. The floor sloped before and was in quite a bad state so we brought in a few tonnes of concrete to level it out and shoppers will notice a big difference. As word spreads we expect to be even busier.”

TJ Morris started as a family shop in Liverpool 30 years ago and has grown to be one of the biggest privately-owned companies in the UK.

Bosses bought around 20 Woolworths stores following the chain’s demise.

Mr Morris said the company was bucking the trend and growing an average of 25 per cent per year, with 30 new stores in the pipeline - including one in Carlisle.

It already has branches in Barrow, Morecambe and Lancaster.