MORE than 45 jobs will be created in Darwen to meet increased demand for information on television licensing.

Capita, which runs a call centre from India Mill, is expanding its staff of over 300 with a recruitment drive directly aimed at people from the town.

Recruits for the part-time positions will handle telephone calls from members of the public and respond to queries about buying a television licence or transferring it to a new address.

Recruitment is underway and is focusing on getting people from Darwen and the surrounding areas into the positions.

Joanne Daynes, contact centre manager at Capita in Darwen, said: "We look forward to welcoming more people to the team.

"The working population here in Darwen has already proved to be up for the challenge of excelling in the fast-paced environment of our contact centre."

Along with a call centre in Bristol, Capita handles about 40,000 calls a day from people inquiring about TV Licensing.