NATIONAL soft furnishing giant Dunelm will open its first store in Redditch on October 3.

The new store, on Grove Street, will be officially opened by Mayor of Redditch Councillor Joe Baker, who will cut the ribbon at 9am.

Students from St Bede's Catholic Middle School choir will be performing a medley of pop hits for guests before, and after the store opens.

Craig Martin, first team player at Redditch RFC, will also be making a special appearance at the event.

Dunelm Redditch store manager, Mark Tomkins, said: “We are really looking forward to welcoming our Redditch neighbours to our opening event on Monday.

“The opening promises to be a great day and we’ve got lots of exciting activities and demos planned in store. We really hope the community will pop along to try their hand at crafting cushions and bunting, and enter our competition to win a £500 Dunelm gift card."

There will be activities and live demos taking place throughout the day.

The Old Needle Club in Redditch will lead sewing demonstrations from 10.30am until 4pm, and will show guests how to make bunting, cushions and a variety of other crafts.

As part of the opening, one shopper will also be in with the chance of winning a £500 gift card and the first 50 guests through the doors will each receive a free goody bag.

The store is undergoing a £1.5 million pound investment and will offer more than 20,000 home furnishing products across homewares, furniture and garden.

To find out more, visit dunelm.com.