DINERS desperate for their favourite fast food fix are flocking to the revamped McDonald’s at Bishop Auckland’s out of town shopping park.

After almost a month without Maccy D’s famous burgers, fries, nuggets and ice cream – because the restaurant was shut for construction work- hungry folk welcomed its reopening yesterday.

And the tills at Abraham Enterprise Park, in Tindale Crescent, were ringing all day as it saw a huge increase in sales compared to the same time last year.

Refurbishment of the store included a new-look dining area, serving platform and a second booth was installed for drive-through customers.

The development also led to the creation of new jobs, with staff numbers boosted from 110 to 130.

Business manager Keith Barber said: “The work we’ve had done is to help us manage the volume of traffic, for the good of the area, and the experience of customers.

“We opened yesterday to a massive sales increase, we’re 40 per cent up on the same date last year.”

Staff at the nearby KFC restaurant had been drafted in for extra shifts to deal with extra customers during McDonald’s closure, the drive through was especially busy from 4pm to 10pm most nights.