Costa Coffee has opened the doors to its new branch next to Lidl in Mill Lane, Alton.

It comes just three weeks after the grand opening of Lidl on Saturday, February 22.

A third unit, Home Bargains, will open its doors to customers at the Mill Lane Retail Park on Saturday, May 18.

It is the second Costa branch in Alton alongside the existing High Street outlet.

The franchise will be run by Scoffs Group, which has a portfolio of 111 Costa stores.

Customers were excited at the prospect of being able to shop at Lidl and Home Bargains, and then enjoy a coffee in between.

One customer said: “It’s lovely to have Costa here as we can do our shopping then come in and have a coffee or tea or whatever we like, and relax after we have been shopping which is really nice.”