ONLY a weekend remains before Swindon's biggest supermarket opens its doors to the public.

Shelves are being stocked, surfaces are being polished and signs put up to advertise bargains at the Asda Wal-Mart store in Haydon Wick.

The store will be officially opened at 10am on Monday by Swindon mayor David Cox.

It is thought the ribbon-cutting will be accompanied by the sort of American-style razzmatazz that greeted the opening of another Asda Wal-Mart outlet near Bristol last year.

Unlike the Bristol version, which was converted from existing supermarket premises, Swindon's is purpose-built.

Various VIPs have had sneak previews of the preparations in Haydon, but yesterday it was the turn of 26 children from Abbey Meads Primary School.

The children have been doing a project about construction, using the new building as an example, so they were given a guided tour.

But it was not all work the itinerary included a visit to the bakery department and a chance to sample some cookies.