Oldbury supermarket rings the tills for 30 years

Staff who started working at a Black Country supermarket when it opened are among those who have been celebrating its 30th birthday.

Sainsbury's in Oldbury first started trading in October 1980 and is still going strong today.

Workers at the store had a disco and buffet at The Village hotel in Dudley on Sunday to mark the milestone.

Mother-of-two June Payton, of Crownmeadow Drive in Tipton, is one of the workers who has been at the Freeth Street-based supermarket from the start.

"I can't believe I have been here 30 years," she said.

"I have had my ups and downs and there has been a lot of hard work - but overall it has been brilliant. I have really enjoyed my 30 years working here."

The 48-year-old started work as a general assistant and is now a department manager.

"When I first started there's no way I thought I would be here this long," she added.

"But It's interesting. I like doing what I'm doing."

The supermarket started off as a Sainsbury's Savacentre and was Britain's fourth specialist hyper market.

In late 2000 the Savacentre brand was dropped and it became a regular Sainsbury's store.

Kevin Healy has been a manager for more than three years but was a student pushing trolleys at a branch in Worcester when it opened.

He said: "People complain about prices now but we are still as competitive.

"There is some stuff we sell today, like garden stuff, that is cheaper now than it was 30 years ago.

"The building itself has not changed much.

"The front looks exactly the same. And a lot of the faces are the same - there are 21 members of staff here who have been here from the beginning."

Mr Healy said that moving some offices upstairs had increased the size of the shop floor from about 60,000 sq ft to 75,000 sq ft.

"We're all extremely proud of the way we work," he said.

"We feel we are a big part of the community. We do a lot of charity work - this year we're supporting Help For Heroes - and when we can we get out into the community."