International sandwich bar chain Prt Manger opens its first shop in Brighton today.

The company will employ 14 full-time staff at its new diner in North Street, which has been given a £300,000 revamp in preparation for today's launch.

It joins Jason's Sandwich Bar, Subs-2-Go and a host of others as the latest addition in the city centre street tempting shoppers, tourists and office workers.

But the store hopes to gain an edge by being among the largest Pret shops in the UK, with a floorspace of about 3,000sq ft.

It will be the first in the country to stock a new range of snacks aimed at children in a range which includes the tantalisingly-named Elephant Poo and Polar Bear Poo cakes.

Because the store has all of its ingredients delivered fresh each morning, any unsold sandwiches will be donated to homelessness charity Crisis, when it opens its new city branch in the summer.

They will be distributed among the city's street homeless.

Paul Collis, general manager of the Brighton shop, said: "I've worked in Prt in London since 1998 alongside Crisis and I was delighted to hear it is setting up in Brighton.

"As we'll both be the new kids on the block in Brighton, I look forward to being able to support and grow with it."

Prt Manger, which was part-bought by fast food giant McDonald's in February last year, claims to have virtually reinvented the sandwich since opening in London in 1985.

Shops have since sprung up across the country, capitalising on the chain's policy of making all sandwiches, baguettes and wraps on site from fresh ingredients.

The sale of a minority stake to the McDonald's Corporation paved the way for international expansion into America and Asia. Last year, it sold more than 25 million sandwiches and generated turnover of £100 million.

The shop was today celebrating its opening with the arrival of sandwich man - a man-sized strawberry jam sandwich.