Workers facing the axe from a convenience store in Westbury owned by Tesco have been told their jobs are now safe following a sudden u-turn by the retail chain.

Thirteen employees at the One Stop Shop in Market Place were left in tears after being told their were being made redundant, despite Tesco opening an Express store just 200 yards down the road this week.

Following pressure from the Wiltshire Times, and our front page article today, red-faced bosses at Tesco have now performed a dramatic u-turn.

The 13 workers were called to an emergency meeting yesterday and told they were no longer being made redundant and would be taken on at the new Tesco Express store, off Fore Street, on a temporary basis.

Then when permanent positions are available they will be offered to them.

Tesco was facing a boycott from customers in Westbury, who were angry at the way One Stop staff were being treated. A petition was launched urging Tesco to reverse the decision.

A One Stop worker said they were called to a meeting at 4pm yesterday, where they were told the good news.

The worker said: "There was a lot of relief.

"I'm a bit more reserved at the news and I want to see the piece of paper saying what's what. We find out on Tuesday what will happen next.

"It's only half the battle though as the business owners and customers want to keep the One Stop open. We'll still keep going with the petition. The number of signatures is really surprising - already it's a couple of hundred."

A spokesman for Tesco said today: "Staff working for the nearby One Stop that is due to close this month have all been offered the option to transfer to Tesco.

"Initially, we will place them in our Tesco Express store with the view to offering them permanent positions in either this or nearby stores as soon as they become available."