A SUPERMARKET giant is targeting 20 new sites across Sussex - including Brighton.

Aldi is aiming to add to its two existing sites in the city, in Lewes Road and London Road.

But the store’s massive expansion plans do not stop there.

Residents of 19 other Sussex towns and cities could also be seeing large new stores opening in their area over the next five years.

The other sites identified by the supermarket are Bexhill, Bognor, Burgess Hill, Chichester, Crawley, East Grinstead, Eastbourne, Goring, Hailsham, Hastings, Haywards Heath, Horsham, Littlehampton, Midhurst, Newhaven, Portslade, Shoreham, Uckfield and Worthing.

Aldi bosses have said these sites will, ideally, each cover 1.5 acres.

They are also looking to expand into areas which have space for a 20,000 sq ft store and 100 parking spaces, “on a prominent main road and with good visibility and access”.

Both “freehold town-centre and edge-of-centre sites” are being considered.

Ciaran Aldridge, national property director at Aldi UK, said: “Aldi is growing rapidly and we are welcoming about a million new customers into our stores every year.

“But there are also hundreds of towns across the UK where there is not an Aldi, meaning there are hundreds of thousands of people who can’t easily access the high quality, affordable food our customers love.

“We are willing to explore all opportunities, including developer-led schemes or existing retail units.”

Aldi is currently the UK’s fifth largest supermarket with 880 stores and 34,000 employees.

But the company is very keen to make a move up the leaderboard.

The chain has announced a target of 1,200 stores in the UK by 2025.

The most recent Aldi to open in Brighton was the supermarket’s Lewes Road site, which flung open its doors for the first time in October 2018.

Eager shoppers formed a long line at the door of the store, with the first 30 customers winning free groceries. The shop’s first customer, Caitlin Hawkes, then 21, queued for one-and-a-half hours to make sure she scooped the free fruit and veg.