Hundreds of shoppers desperate to get their hands on a “good bargain” queued outside a new major discount store ahead of its opening inside a former Wilko.

Poundstretcher opened at 9am in Strood High Street today (December 19) but some excited customers were already up and out the door shortly after 4am in anticipation.

Its launch drew large queues of excited customers, with the first 100 receiving special limited edition goody bags.

Some of the first in the queue included father-and-son duo Jesse Lee and Nathan Lee who had woken up at 4am and 6.45am respectively in anticipation for the opening.

Nathan, 27, told KentOnline: “I love Poundstretcher they are brilliant because you can get loads of good bargains in there and I’m so glad it’s opened in Strood because it’s a long time overdue.

“I got up at 6.45am and left at 7am just to come here and wait in the queue.

“You can’t beat good bargains in Poundstretcher, it’s brilliant.”

Jesse, 51, said: “It was my son’s idea,” adding they were motivated by the free goody bag.

Meanwhile, Caroline Holloway from the town was one of the first 10 customers and joined the queue at about 7:45am despite having finished all her Christmas shopping.

She said: “I’m having a look round and wasting a bit of time really, I’m going to have a mooch round and get some dog treats.”

The 67-year-old was pleased to see something opening in the space, adding: “Something needs to be done down here, everything’s shutting, I think the whole high street needs a new facelift to be honest.”

Echoing this sentiment, Paul Bailey, a music researcher from Strood, said: “It’s opening brings a bit of life into the town which is badly needed.

“When I came here about 24 years ago it was more vibrant, you had a market, and you had more things here and it’s been taken about but now hopefully it’s having a turn around and we’re get a few things back.

“It’s such a nice bright store, it looks lovely.”

The store’s opening has created 15 new full and part-time jobs in the process.

What’s more, Santa himself took a break from his hectic schedule and flew in to open the store, together with the new manager, Mihaela Raducan.

She said: “We are ready and excited, we are waiting for our customers.

“There has been a lot of preparation, we were here everyday 8am-8pm to make everything is ready for customers.

“I’m excited to see the customer’s reaction to the new store opening.”

It will be the third budget outlet in the town with B&M and Poundland on Strood Retail Park.

Another early riser was customer Rebekah Hales, 14, from Wainscott who woke up at 6am to arrive at 7.30am in search of “cheap bargains”.

She said: “I need loads of Christmas presents.

“I’m usually between Poundstretcher and Poundland, so I’m excited to see what good bargains I can get.”

Established in 1981, Poundstretcher is a British discount retailer which offers food, toiletries, garden essentials, and homeware brands.