IT is one of Southampton’s best-kept secrets but now the secret’s out it could save you money on your weekly shopping bill.

Selling a variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, homemade cakes, sausages and eggs, the Monday market at Southampton University is popular with both students and the public.

Watch a video from the market

The market, which has been running for seven years, has seen an increase in trade as customers have found that a lot of the produce is cheaper than in the supermarkets.

Run at the Students Union building, near the Nuffield Theatre, the market sells a lot of locally or British grown items so you can also be ethical about reducing the amount of diesel required to get your food to the kitchen.

David Findlay, director of Unique Fruits Ltd, which runs the market, said: “People can save money by coming down here. I keep an eye on the supermarket prices and we are generally cheaper. It’s always funny how people presume supermarkets are cheaper.

“It’s good quality fresh produce and we pretty much sell out all the time.

People can do a week’s shop because it is very fresh. We sell a wide range of up to 80 different types of produce.

There’s also a lot of unusual stuff that perhaps English people would not buy.

It’s been made popular by the foreign students staying at the university.

“Today our bargains include English strawberries and organic bananas.”

The market also has a PURE stall that sells a lot of fair-trade products such as chocolate, snacks, tea, coffee, pasta, rice, clothing and jewellery.

As well as food you can also browse through hundreds of cheap DVDs, music CDs and books. Outside the Students Union building there is currently a plant section for those green fingered bargain hunters to get to grips with.

Then there are the monthly Farmers Markets that are held on the concourse outside the Students Union from 10am to 2pm.

The next farmers market will be held on November 6.