SHOPPERS were given their first glimpse inside Torquay's new Waitrose this morning when doors were opened to the public.

But the store immediately walked into controversy by revealing fish being sold at its fresh fish counter will be delivered every day from Grimsby — not nearby Brixham.

The leader of South West Fish Producers Jim Portus said Waitrose had no excuse for not taking fish landed in Brixham.

Jim Portus said: "Of course Waitrose should be using Brixham if it is moving into Torbay.

"If people are going to have a fresh fish counter, they should be assured of fresh fish from a local source so that it has low food miles."

The store in St Marychurch Road welcomed its first customers since taking over the former Somerfield premises.

The fresh fish counter will have a wide range of choice including monkfish, John Dory and parrot fish.

Mr Portus said: "You can get monkfish and John Dory at Brixham but parrot fish is tropical, bringing in the question of air miles.

"The quality of fish in Brixham is second to none and if Waitrose is going to make claims of being an ethical supermarket perhaps it should look in the mirror first."

He said local Tesco and Sainsbury's stores did take catch landed at Brixham.

Waitrose manager John Parker said: "It is corporate policy to take fish from Grimsby. We are only just moving into the South West so we will be looking at sourcing more produce locally."

Waitrose is keen to promote itself as an ethical supermarket.

Employees greeted shoppers this morning with 5,000 reusable 'Bags for Life' at the checkouts.

Mr Parker said he was excited about the new store opening.

"It is fair to say Waitrose is an unashamedly quality food company.

"Part of our business ethic is to believe that food is an important part of people's lives and we take a great deal of care with the husbandry of the produce.

"We have the highest standards of welfare for the animals and this has to reflect on the price.

"However, we do price-watch against places like Tesco and Sainsbury's and customers here will be able to make a direct comparison between our prices and Somerfield.

"Anyone who thinks we might be too expensive will be able to judge for themselves."

Partners, as all Waitrose employees are known, will have the opportunity to gain national certificates in food expertise through comprehensive training programmes to enable them to become 'Waitrose Specialists' on its meat, fish, cheese and delicatessen counters.

Sarah Grove, former Somerfield trading manager and now Waitrose assistant section manager, said: "I found the overall standard of the training courses extremely high.

"The training has covered all aspects of my job, from how we treat our customers, to how we maintain our extremely high standards throughout the store in order to make it the best shopping experience for our customers and best working environment for our partners."