YOUNGSTERS Ella Ramonell and Louis Cordle go bananas for fruit smoothies at the opening of new Southampton juice bar Lovejuice.

The expanding chain has opened a new outlet in WestQuay Shopping Centre creating eight jobs. Shoppers can select their own mix of fruits to be blended into a bespoke drink while they wait.

The nine-strong chain, which hopes to expand to more than 50 by 2009, was started by John Heseltine who picked up a taste for exotic juices while travelling the world.

He said: "We are not the kind of people who will run a marathon before breakfast every morning, but we are the kind of people who like to put some of the good, healthy stuff in our bodies to make up for the neglect. We are all now far more aware of what we eat and how important fresh fruit and veg really are."