AN INDEPENDENT retailer has unveiled a huge injection of investment and new jobs in a Suffolk market town to persuade the public to support local shops and producers.

AN INDEPENDENT retailer has unveiled a huge injection of investment and new jobs in a Suffolk market town to persuade the public to support local shops and producers.

The Budgens store in the Turban Centre, Woodbridge, is to be given a £1.8million investment and more than 20 extra jobs will be created through the redevelopment programme.

Work will start near the end of the year to increase the floor space by about 50 per cent. This will allow a greater range of products and extra space for customers to move around the building.

There will be a large new entrance facing the car park and the staff numbers will increase from 72 jobs to nearly 100.

The post office will be improved, Woodbridge police will set up a satellite office inside the store and a free bus service will bring shoppers from outlying villages to visit Budgens and the town's other shops.

The benefits of shopping in Woodbridge will be promoted by Budgens and the shop could increase the number of closed circuit television cameras.

Since the store brought in external cameras police have used video footage to catch criminals targeting shops in the vicinity of Budgens.