For the first time in seven years, Detling villagers can make a quick trip to the shop.

Hundreds were on the village green on Saturday for the opening of its new store.

Richard Finn, a member of the village store's committee, said: "The grand opening went very well.

"A lot of people thanked us for getting a shop back in Detling. I was more pleased to hear people's response to our refillable, recyclable, local produce.

"People seemed to be really pleased with that and it's great, we don't want to be a convenience store we want to be a destination store."

The shop, which received more than £88,000 from various donors, is also home to the village Post Office and a small coffee shop.

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Mr Finn added: "We had more than 250 people come across the weekend, not all of them were from the village either.

"There were customers from Hollingbourne and Bearsted, which is exactly what we'd like to see."

Detling Village Store is open from 7am to 7pm Monday to Saturday and 7am to 1pm on Sundays.

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