There were celebrations in Beccles this morning as one of the town's largest stores was reopened.

Rainbow closed its Gosford Road store in August, but on Friday it was officially opened as a Roys department store.

The store has undergone a large internal extension and while more than 30 of the Rainbow staff have been retained by Roys, they have also been able to give jobs to 26 new people.

Ed Roy, managing director of Roys, said the company were very happy to move into Beccles.

'It is a lovely town and we are pleased to bring opportunities for customers in Beccles and create employment,' he said.

Conducting the opening ceremony was Beccles mayor Graham Catchpole who spoke of his delight at the opening of the store, complete with two hours of free parking for customers.

He said: 'I can't tell you how relieved I was when I heard that Roys was opening up in Beccles so soon after the closure of the Rainbow store.

'We could have easily had a boarded up building standing here for years to come, but we are very fortunate to have such a well-known East Anglian based company open up in the heart of Beccles.

'I am sure that Roys will attract many more people both local and holidaymakers into our town to the benefit of all.

'Beccles is definitely open for business and I wish Roys a prosperous relationship with our town.'

Mr Catchpole also thanked Ed Roy, managing director, for the company's charitable presentations.

The firm gave �1,000 to the Mayor's Appeal fund, which is helping young people in the town progress in sport, and �500 to the PCSO Youth Sport fund, which Deborah Green is using to help young people in the Rigbourne Hill area of the town.

The money was a result of the company's participation in Nisa's Making A Difference Locally charitable scheme, which helps independently run local stores to add value in their communities through donations to local charities or good causes.

Roys has seven stores in Wroxham and a further seven across Norfolk and Suffolk, with the Beccles shop mid-size in their range.

It includes 40 departments including fashion, homeware, electrical, gardening, toys and Clarks' children's shoes.

There are also products from a number of local suppliers including Bushells Bakery, Waveney Mushrooms, breweries St Peter's and Adnams, and Broadland Hams.