THE first brews have been served up at Swindon's first Starbucks coffee shop and drive-thru.

The doors were opened at 8am for the first time yesterday with an arc of green and white balloons that resemble the Starbucks logo.

Mayor of Swindon Kevin Parry took part in a coffee taster, before cutting the ribbon for the new refreshment stop near Great Western Way.

The manager Magda Sobczak, 30, said: “I feel very excited. We have had a very busy last couple of days, I was excited to see that so many people turned up.

Staff at the coffee shop used the opening ceremony as an opportunity to raise money for the MS Society, which supports people who have the neurological condition Multiple Sclerosis.

Magda plans to support more charities in the future.

The opening follows the news the branch in The Brunel shopping centre will be closing. It is one of the biggest coffee shops in the town centre but it will close on July 18.

Magda said town centre staff were being encouraged to move over to the new branch.

She said: “We don’t want people to go without jobs, the idea is that they come here.”

Philip Lee-Ashby, a spokesperson for The Magic Bean Company, a partner of Starbucks UK, said: “I’m excited for it being the first one, it will be a good attraction for the town."