A FROZEN food firm is embarking on a £3m expansion project creating extra jobs in Warminster.

Lyons Seafoods has announced plans to double the size of its factory and move its office headquarters to the Fairfield Road site.

The state-of-the-art factory is expected to be finished within nine months and will create over 40 new jobs during the first year.

The decision to expand the frozen food site was taken by bosses in a bid to cope with the company's 45 per cent growth over the past three years.

Chief executive Ole Norgaard said: "Our spectacular growth rate shows what a quality reputation, innovative products and an excellent workforce can achieve and only a fortnight ago we won two top industry awards, at the European Seafood Exhibition in Brussels.

"These exciting factory expansion plans are key to the continued success of the company and our investment will continue with further recruitment and training for our workforce."

West Wiltshire District Council gave Lyons Seafoods permission to redevelop vacant neighbouring land in March.

The plan will see current buildings demolished and replaced with a new production hall, chilled storage facilities, a chilled loading bay and new offices.

The factory will be linked up to Lyons' existing building but the company's

operations in Codford will not be affected.

Lyons Seafoods has been based in Warminster since 1958 and the

expansion is expected to cost the firm £3m.

The scheme will double the size of the five-acre plot and all staff and operations from the Bishopstrow site will be moved into the new factory in spring 2005.

Warminster mayor Martin Baker said the council has not seen an application to build a state-of-the-art factory.

He said: "We have dealt with one application and that was for the removal of offices from Bishopstrow to Warminster.

"One thought is that the factory would be best suited to one of the plots outside the town as we would much prefer houses in that area of the town and we would raise concerns over the number of heavy goods vehicles in a residential area.

"There would be a lot of ramifications concerning this project."

The frozen food firm secured the former Sydenhams building yard when it moved to Crusader Park in April 2003.