A customer has waited just less than 20 hours for a year's supply of coffee from Kent's first Tim Hortons branch.

The Canadian coffee shop opened its doors at Imperial Retail Park, Gravesend, today at 7am.

To celebrate its much-anticipated opening, the firm was giving its first drive-thru and restaurant customers free drinks, every day for a whole year.

Hazel Jacobson was at the drive-thru almost 20 hours before the store opened, arriving at 11.30am on Tuesday.

And following in her footsteps – albeit 12 hours later – Richard waited from 11pm yesterday to be the first visitor inside the store.

Staff also gave away breakfast meals to the first 100 customers this morning.

Chief commercial officer of Tim Hortons franchise in the UK, Kevin Hydes, said: "Due to popular demand from fans over the years, we are over the moon to be making our mark in Kent.

"As a brand, we are continuing to pursue our plans for growth, with the aim of reaching our fans all across the UK, and so this opening is an important step in our expansion.

"The team has already had a busy morning since the doors opened at 7am, and we hope to see this demand continue as we celebrate the opening throughout the week."

The drive-thru and restaurant in Thames Way will be open from 6am until midnight, seven days a week.

It has opened in the former Pizza Hut, which had been trading from the estate since 2005, after it closed last year due to the impact of Covid-19.

The unit was one of 29 chains across the country to cease trading permanently as bosses declared sales were not expected "to fully bounce back until well into 2021”.

Tim Hortons now has 62 branches around the UK since arriving in 2017.

This is the first in Kent - the closest up until now was at Lakeside shopping centre in Thurrock, Essex.