A Tunbridge Wells shopping centre was jam-packed for the opening of Krispy Kreme’s newest outlet today.

Tunbridge Wells Grammar School students Lucy Waters, 14 and Maisie Vernon, 15, both from the town, were at the head of a 70-strong queue of eager doughnut fans at Royal Victoria Place for the launch.

As the first customers they were handed a Gold Card to share, entitling them to a double-dozen free doughnuts every month for a year.

Lucy, who waited with her friend for three hours so they could be first through the doors, said: “We were really lucky that it’s half term so we were able to queue outside the shopping centre and be first in the queue when it opened. We didn’t want to miss out.”

Goody bags were also dished out to the first dozen people in the queue.

Operations director at Krispy Kreme, Neil Williamson, said he was overwhelmed by the turnout, adding: “We’re always delighted to meet people who are nuts about Krispy Kreme, and we look forward to welcoming more customers to this brand new store in the coming weeks.”