Hundreds of people joined the anti-Tesco march in Herne

As many as 1,000 people angry at plans to open a Tesco store in a quiet Kent village joined a protest march yesterday.

The demonstration in Herne was organised by the parish council and Herne Against Tesco - a committee set up to fight the plans.

Many villagers are furious at Tesco's plans to build an Express store on the site of an empty pub, next to a historic church and the corner shop, which also contains the local Post Office.

The supermarket giant, which picked Herne after analysing data from members of its Clubcard scheme, is expected to put in a planning application before the end of April.

Herne and Broomfield Parish Council has agreed to pay a professional planning consultant to help fight the plans when they are submitted.

Sunday's protest followed a public meeting in January, which had to be moved from the village hall to the church when hundreds of people turned up.

It comes as Tesco unveils plans to create 20,000 new jobs in the UK, including a significant number for young people. It will also offer 10,000 apprenticeship placements.

Last month, the company was criticised after a job advert offered night-shift workers jobseekers' allowance plus expenses.

Tesco - the country's largest private sector employer with more than 290,000 staff - said the advert was a mistake and blamed a computer error.

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For more on the march and Tesco's bid for Herne, see this week's Kentish Gazette - out Thursday.