THURROCK could be about to get two new Aldi stores.

As part of its UK expansion plan the budget supermarket chain says it is looking for premises in Tilbury and Stanford-le-Hope or Corringham.

The company is looking for freehold town-centre or edge-of-centre sites suitable for development.

It says each site should be around 1.5 acres and able to accommodate a 20,000 sq ft store with about 100 parking spaces, ideally on a prominent main road and with good visibility and access.

Ciaran Aldridge, National Property Director at Aldi UK, said: "Aldi is growing rapidly and we are welcoming around a million new customers into our stores every year.

"But there are also hundreds of towns across the UK where there is not an Aldi, meaning there are hundreds of thousands of people who can't easily access the high quality, affordable food our customers love.

"We are willing to explore all opportunities, including developer-led schemes or existing retail units."