AN eager crowd was gathered in Beccles yesterday morning for the grand opening of the new QD store in New Market - just in time for Easter.The store replaces the old Woolworths which had stood in the centre of Beccles for over 70 years, and it is hoped that the latest tenants will also be in the town for years to come.

AN eager crowd was gathered in Beccles yesterday morning for the grand opening of the new QD store in New Market - just in time for Easter.

The store replaces the old Woolworths which had stood in the centre of Beccles for over 70 years, and it is hoped that the latest tenants will also be in the town for years to come.

It was opened by Becclesian Helen Steed, who emailed the company to voice her resounding approval when she heard they were coming to the town.

“It's an ideal replacement for Woolworths,” she said. “I can get anything at QD without breaking the bank and now I don't have to travel to Lowestoft.”

Justin Farrington Smith, managing director of the Norwich-based chain, was at the opening and said he was “really really pleased” to be opening a store in Beccles, and that they were in for the long haul.

“Everyone likes what we're offering them,” he said. “We like to see a really strong, vibrant town centre, so we want to be an anchor store in the town but we want all the other stores to be pleased that we're here. We've got a really great manager and some fantastic staff.”

The store, which will employ about 25 staff, takes the number of stores in the group to 28, ranging in geographical terms from Grays in Essex to Doncaster in South Yorkshire.

The opening is one of at least 10 new stores the group intend to unveil this year, with Lincolnshire expected to be the home of some of those new shops.