An East London branch of a supermarket giant had a special visitor ten years ago this week.

Prime Minister David Cameron popped into Leytonstone Tesco after the firm announced plans for 20,000 new jobs nationwide.

Mr Cameron spoke to press and workers at the store in Gainsborough Road followed by a quick visit to the staff canteen before his departure.

Neil Cheshire, store manager, said: “It’s not every day you get the British Prime Minister in your local Tesco.

"He chatted with us about the new jobs Tesco is creating. It was a really exciting event which everyone enjoyed.”

Tesco says it intends to create thousands of extra customer service posts and new training schemes at its stores over the next two years to help tackle rising unemployment.

A spokeswoman for the firm said the Leytonstone branch was chosen for the announcement as it had been one of 200 stores which have been participating in a trial of the training scheme.

The publicity push comes after protests against the supermarket giant over its involvement in the Government's controversial work experience scheme.

Locally concerns have also been raised about the number of Tesco shops in Waltham Forest and their impact on independent businesses.