A LOYAL Co-op customer who has visited her local Wickham Market branch every day for the past 50 years was given the honour of cutting the ribbon at the village’s new �3.5million store.

Peggy Eade, who is in her eighties and has bought her groceries every day from the East of England Co-operative Society in the High Street, was one of the first to see inside the new 9,000ft store.

The new store features an extended range of electrical appliances and a home delivery service, plus a larger range of local products.

Roger Grosvenor, executive officer for retail, said: “We wanted to thank Peggy for her loyalty at the grand opening of the custom build Wickham Market store because local communities are at the heart of what we do and who we are as a Co-operative society”.

The new build project also includes the creation of six two bedroom flats which are available to let through the society. There are a further six two bedroom houses which will be let through Orwell Housing to provide low cost housing to the local community.