MORE than 120 jobs have been created across Hampshire as a national UK business launches a recruitment drive.

Leading motorway service area (MSA) provider Roadchef is preparing to welcome non-essential road users back to its Hampshire sites as Covid-19 restrictions continue to ease, and has created 126 new Hampshire jobs.

Road are expected to be busier from April 12 as stage two of lifting lockdown is launched.

It allows people to embark on domestic holidays with their households, providing they stay in self-contained accommodation.

In anticipation of this rise in summer staycations, Roadchef is also undertaking a huge recruitment drive to prepare for the surge in travellers.

Over the course of the next three months, the company is looking to recruit 1,000 new team members from entry-level through to manager roles across the UK, including 79 vacancies at its Rownhams site and a further 47 vacancies at its Sutton Scotney site to ensure all outlets are open and fully operational.

Mark Fox, chief executive at Roadchef, said: "The coronavirus pandemic has been incredibly testing for all of us. As the roadmap out of lockdown continues, it is looking likely that we will have another busy staycation summer.

"While all our sites have been open for the past year to provide a safe place for essential travellers to stop and de-stress, the roads have been very quiet.

“However, we are excited by the outlook for UK tourism, especially in the second half of 2021, and look forward to welcoming customers back to our motorway service areas.

"We’re recruiting plenty more friendly and passionate people to ensure our sites can eagerly welcome back travellers with the highest possible standard of customer service."

To find out more about the many and varied career opportunities at Roadchef visit www.roadchef.com/careers