THE toy shop Smyths is planning a celebration when it opens its new Poole superstore tomorrow.

The store is on the site of the town’s former Toys R Us on the Nuffield Industrial Estate.

Smyths will open its doors at 9am and is offering free face painting, candy floss and other giveaways.

On Saturday, the party will continue with special guests including the PJ Masks Grekko, Ben 10’s Heartblast and others dropping in between 9am and 4pm.

Smyths Toys said: “Children living in and around the area of Poole are in for a real treat with a brand new Smyths Toys Superstore right on their doorstep, the perfect place to visit for endless hours of entertainment.”

The retailer said the store would be “bursting with a huge range of toys, video games, bikes and baby products, including all the top brands”.

Store manager Frank Riley said: “We’re delighted to be moving to a brand new Smyths Toys Superstore in Poole.

“We are inviting everyone down to join us at the opening on October 24.

“There will be various giveaways and some great bargains you won’t want to miss out on so make sure you drop by.”

The site, at Units 5-9 Nuffield Road, has been empty since Toys R Us collapsed into administration in April 2018.

BCP Council approved a planning application earlier this year to split the former store into three smaller units.

The application came from FI-Real Estate Management, which had been appointed to find tenants for 31 former Toys R Us stores. It proposed dividing the former Toys R us into units for Smyths Toys, South Coast Building Supplies and JD Gyms.

Planning agent Lambert Smith Hampton said in its application that the “prompt re-use of the vacated Toys R Us building will bring confidence to the local economic market through increased employment opportunities to parts of the local community”.

It added: “The re-use of the building will minimise the potential for anti-social behaviour on the empty property and car park and secure a safe and well-designed built environment that provides a long term solution to the site.”

The whole development is expected to provide 70-100 jobs.

Smyths Toys, which is based in Galway in Ireland, has been expanding, with more than 110 branches across the UK and Ireland.