Jollyes opened its first Chester store on Friday and has more celebrations planned for this coming bank holiday weekend.

The store, at Chester Retail Park, Old Seals Way, Chester, CH1 4RY was officially opened by three special guests.

Performing the red ribbon cutting was Lord Mayor of Chester, Cllr Razia Daniels a governor of City of Chester University and The Queen’s School Chester.

Alongside The Lord Mayor was detector dog Sully and his handler Olivia Uguz, who bit through a string of sausages to declare the store open.

Sully, a sprocker, works for the border force protecting the country and like many service animals may be supported in later years by the National Federation of Retired Service Dogs (NFRSA), which Jollyes recently named as a key charity partner.

The new Chester store has created 12 jobs and is led by experienced Jollyes store manager Stephen Williams, who’s been promoted to the role after 11 years working for Jollyes in Runcorn.

Joining the Chester team are deputy manager Charlie Davis, who has been promoted from his role as supervisor at Jollyes’ Flint store, and new supervisor Holly Williams.

Store manager Stephen Williams said: “We’re delighted to have brought Jollyes to Chester. My whole team here at the store can’t wait to bring their pet expertise to the city alongside the kind of value that’s been making a real difference to pet parents right across the UK.”

Jollyes in Chester is the retailer’s 105th store in the UK.