A discount supermarket has pledged more than £18 million towards building new stores and upgrading existing sites across Kent.

Aldi's investment of £18,366,900 will include upgrades to the Sittingbourne and Whitstable branches as well as building a new shop in Ashford.

This is part of the German retailer’s UK-wide expansion which includes an investment of £1.4 billion during 2023 and 2024 after Aldi attracted more new customers than any other supermarket in the last 12 months.

Some 1,500 new jobs will be created across the country thanks to the investment.

Further job opportunities in all of its current stores, regional distribution centres and UK offices are also expected to be offered.

New stores are set to open in 2024 including a second branch for Ashford. The supermarket, set to open on the Waterbrook Park, estate has already received planning permission.

But despite being given the thumbs up to build at the site Aldi has called on shoppers to lobby Ashford council over a "frustrating" planning condition which has prevented work from starting.

Meanwhile, Sittingbourne Aldi has already received a new upgrade in the form of a renovated roof. When work began it was hoped it was the start of the long-awaited multi-million pound revamp of the store in East Street.

The news about the latest investment comes after Aldi announced the opening date for its new £9 million store opposite Neats Court in Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey.

Aldi UK communications director Richard Thornton said the expansion will bring stores to places in the country that don’t have Aldi’s as well as meeting demand at existing supermarkets.

He added: “We’re continuing to welcome more and more new customers through our doors. People come for our low prices but stick around for our award-winning quality.

“However, there are still areas of the country that don’t have an Aldi, or that need more or larger stores to meet demand.

“That is what our 2024 expansion plans aim to do. We now have more than 1,000 stores across the UK but there are plenty more Aldi stores still to come, in 2024 and beyond.”