Aldi store staff in Lancashire are to get a pay rise, which will see Aldi become the first supermarket in the UK to guarantee store and warehouse workers pay of at least £12 an hour.

The move makes Aldi the first supermarket to offer rates in line with the real living wage that was set by the Living Wage Foundation in October this year.

Store assistants’ pay will rise to £12.95, based on the length of service, as part of Aldi’s £67 million investment into staff pay.

Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “Just as we promise to provide the best value to our customers, we are also committed to being the highest-paying supermarket within the sector - which is why we are investing more than ever into this pay rise.

“We are incredibly proud of every single member of team Aldi and this is a way of thanking them for all their hard work over the past year.

"We believe our colleagues are the best in the sector and they play a huge part in making Aldi what it is today.”

Aldi is the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket and has more than 1,000 stores, 11 regional distribution centres and 40,000 staff across Britain.