FAST food giant Burger King is opening another store in the region next month and is giving away 1,000 free burgers to mark the occasion.

Next Monday (March 2), Burger King will open its brand-new premises at Tees Bay Retail Park in Hartlepool, four years after leaving the town in 2015.

Earlier this month, Burger King announced the opening of its Thinford Lane store, near Spennymoor in County Durham. 

As part of the new store opening, Burger King bosses are giving away vouchers in and around the town centre, entitling the recipient to one free Whopper burger.

The campaign, which as per normal store openings will last a week, will be exclusively limited to the first 1,000 customers.

Alasdair Murdoch, Chief Executive Officer at Burger King UK, said: “We know the people of Hartlepool love the great-tasting food of Burger King, so we’ve listened to their requests and are very excited to bring all their favourites to their neighbourhood."

Last week, Burger King revealed it was taking a poor hygiene rating at its Darlington Cornmill Centre premises "very seriously" and that it was taking "immediate steps" to rectify its score.