Eastern Daily Press reports that 2 Sisters Food Group is recruiting for 100 roles at its Flixton factory near Bungay in Suffolk, after the business completed an upgrade to the facility to meet increased retail demand.

Allison Smith, general manager at the Flixton site, said: "The upgrade at Flixton will enable us to grow business and provide new career opportunities for people in the region.

"This is great news for the site and acknowledges the loyalty and capability of our fantastic colleagues that continue to go the extra mile each and every day to supply our customers with great quality, safe chicken."

2 Sisters, which is owned by Bernard Matthews owner Ranjit Singh Boparan, is carrying out a multi-million pound investment programme across its UK poultry division.

The group also runs a chicken plant at Thetford.

The news comes as fellow food processor Cranswick has revealed a £54m investment in a new poultry plant at Eye that could create 400 new jobs.

East Anglia has suffered wave after wave of job cuts in recent weeks as Britvic, Colman’s and BAE Systems have put posts at risk, while the Construction Industry Training Board is to move its 575-strong head office out of the county.

On Tuesday, retail wholesaler Palmer & Harvey went into administration, resulting in the immediate redundancy of 127 people working at the company’s depot in Brandon.