EAST Lancashire is to get just the third drive-thru Greggs bakery shop in the UK.

The branch, at a new service area near the M65’s junction six for Blackburn, is due to open by the end of the month.

It is a key part of the £100million pound Frontier Park development by Euro Garages.

The decision to make the latest Greggs bakery a drive-thru follows the success of the first two such outlets at Irlam in Salford which opened in June last year, and Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire which followed 12 months later.

As well as a 24-hour drive-thru, the new store will include seating.

It will create 20 jobs and is part of the BP service station complex which will also include a Subway and Spar.

Roger Whiteside, Newcastle-on-Tyne-based Greggs chief executive, said: “As the internet changes the way we shop and our food-on-the-go eating habits, we have been focusing on taking Greggs to where our customers want us to be including office parks, industrial estates, retail parks and travel hubs.

“Our first two drive-thrus have proved popular with customers, offering the ultimate convenience, so we’re excited to open a third in Blackburn.”

The service area, set to open shortly, will include separate ‘pods’ for a KFC and Starbucks in addition to the petrol station/ retail complex.

The Greggs outlet will offer hot and cold sandwiches, soups and freshly-baked savouries all day while breakfast will be served until 11am featuring bacon rolls, fresh fruit and freshly-ground Fairtrade coffees.

The 90-acre business park will be accessed from the Whitebirk roundabout off the M65 Junction Six for which a new traffic signal gantry and access roads have been installed.

On the Blackburn/Hyndburn border Frontier Park will have a million sq ft of commercial space. Due for completion by 2022, it aims to create 2,000 jobs

It will include five warehouses and a 150-bedroom hotel, conference and banqueting centre.

The Greggs’ drive thru will also offer the bakery’s ‘Balanced Choice’ healthier range.