Adorable pooches accompanied the mayor of Deal at the grand opening of The Dogs’ Trust charity shop in Deal on Friday.

The sun shone through rain clouds and eager shoppers waited at the doors for a glimpse of what is on sale. The mayor, Cllr Deryck Murray, cut the ribbon, declaring the store open.

He said: “It is lovely in here,” and made a fuss of four-month old lurcher pups Bill and Ben, who were bought to the High Street shop for the celebration.

The brothers’ care is being sponsored by the charity until they are re-homed and possibly given new names.

The first customer was Michael Sullivan, of Norman Taylor House, Deal. He bagged a bargain silver tea set and was served by the store manager Gary Cody.

Relishing the chance to rummage among the rails of colour coded goods was Ann Bridgen who lives in Deal.

She said: “It looks wonderful. The window displays are brilliant. They have done it so nicely, it’s very attractive. It doesn’t look like a charity shop.”

To bag a bargain, call into the store at Deal High Street, next to the traffic lights.