EUROPE's biggest producers of frozen chips has been given the green light to invest £100m at its headquarters factory at Scarborough.

McCain is to refurbish and extend its food production plan at its factory on the outskirts of the resort at Havers Hill, Eastfiel.

In a statement to the borough council, the company said the move would ensure the future of some 736 workers.

"McCain provides a significant contribution to employment and the Scarborough economy," it said.

"It is the UK's largest purchaser of British potatoes, buying approximately 15 per cennt of the annual crops and therefore contributing a significant amount to the arable farming industry in North and East Yorkshire."

The company. which established the factory more than 50 years at Scarborough, says many parts of its existing plant are ageing and in need of replacement together with providing more sustainable and environmentally efficient production and waste treatment equipment.

"The development will reduce energy consumption intensity and improve the way by-products are treated with the installation of the anaerobic digester unit."