FAST-FOOD restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) plans to create about 500 jobs in the North-East during the next three years.
The chain plans to open about 15 restaurants on sites in Durham, Teesside and Tyneside.
A spokesman for the group said: "The North-East has been a success story for us and is one of the first areas where we started to build on bigger sites.
"We remain committed to the North-East and as a result plan to open a number of new restaurants in the region over the next three years."
KFC is starting a recruitment drive to find both full and part-time staff.
KFC has 563 outlets across the UK and had annual sales last year of more than £170m.
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