A new butchers has opened its doors taking the place of a former unit occupied by the doomed JC Rook & Sons, which went into administration last year.

Folkestone Butchers, in Sandgate Road, welcomed customers into the new store on Wednesday with plans to create their "own identity".

The shop is now one of the company's four branches in Kent – Aldington, Dymchurch, Hythe and Folkestone.

Business owner Peter Vickerman says he is relieved to finally get his latest project open to the public and is confident it will be a success.

"It's taken a lot of work to get going, but the reaction has been really positive to the opening.

"I have been in the butcher shop business my whole life so I'm not nervous about it at all.

"I know there is an energy crisis at the moment but we aren't worried about that."

JC Rook & Sons had 11 stores across Kent before they were forced to close.

The Folkestone Butchers is now the second former Rook's building that has been taken over by Mr Vickerman, following the opening of the Hythe Butchers in May last year.

"We are not the same as a normal butchers. We do a lot of added value products, we keep the prices very reasonable while keeping it at a high quality. Folkestone has never had anything like we do," he added.

The 56-year-old opened the Aldington store back in 2014 and the Dymchurch meat counter opened in 2018.

When JC Rook & Sons closed, 155 people lost their jobs but Mr Vickerman has been able to offers jobs to many of the people who were out of work.

Manager of the new Folkestone store, Chris Esdaile, previously worked at Rooks for 12 years before they went bust.

The demise of the Kent butcher chain was blamed on a fall in trade throughout the Covid lockdowns.

Mr Esdaile is also confident that Folkestone Butchers will not make the same mistakes.

"We're not trying to be Rooks, we have learnt from their mistakes and we are making our own identity.

"It's been really busy, it's been a very encouraging start," he said.