Bosses at John Lewis have announced they will recruit more than 7,000 temporary workers ahead of the festive period.

The retailer, which has a store at Ipswich's Futura Park, is looking to hire 2,000 more members of staff than last year to help meet the increased demand.

This announcement comes after John Lewis said it would be closing eight of it stores in March this year — with the chain's only Suffolk branch surviving the cut.

The company said it would be offering temporary staff free food and drink to "help ensure we can attract the help we need".

The new hires will be spread across the chains Waitrose supermarkets and John Lewis department stores, as well as fulfilment centres and delivery drivers for its online grocery division.

Nikki Humphrey, people director at the John Lewis Partnership, said: “We know that as the first Christmas after lockdown, customers will want to make it really special and we’re throwing everything we can into helping them celebrate – our festive team will have a crucial role to play.

“We’re looking for people who can deliver extraordinary service to help customers get what they need to celebrate.

"We look forward to welcoming people into our team across the country.”

It is not yet clear how many of the temporary staff will be based at the Ipswich store, but the John Lewis Partnership has been approached for a comment.