A DISCOUNT supermarket giant is looking to expand even further across East Lancashire it has announced.

Aldi is targeting its first store in Darwen and a further outlet in Burnley as it hopes to open 12 stores across Lancashire.

Aldi is on the lookout for new store locations as it targets having 1,200 stores open by 2025.

Aldi, which has more than 880 stores across the UK, said it was looking for freehold town-centre or edge-of-centre sites suitable for development in Burnley and Darwen.

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

It already has sites in most East Lancashire towns and recently opened major outlets at Whitebirk near Blackburn and in Rawtenstall.

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.

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

The full list of locations it is targeting in Lancashire are:

Burnley

Lancaster

Lytham

North Blackpool

North Southport

Ormskirk

Penwortham

Preston

Skelmersdale

West Preston

Darwen

Fulwood/Crooks

Aldi is Britain’s fifth largest supermarket with more than 34,000 employees.