CARLISLE'S MP has welcomed the news that Amazon is to create more than 100 jobs in the area.

The online retailer confirmed to our sister paper The Cumberland News that the number of staff at its delivery station on Woodlands Industrial Storage Estate would double, with another 100 seasonal jobs to be created as part of 20,000 across the UK.

Amazon has seen sales soar during the coronavirus pandemic, with many turning to online retailers to meet their shopping needs.

The firm opened its 7,000 sq metre delivery station on the outskirts of Longtown in June, creating 20 jobs working with a network of 100 drivers.

The Cumbrian delivery station is the last piece in an expansive distribution network which sees packages destined for Amazon customers shipped to the site where they are then sorted and delivered to consumers.

The new jobs are part of the retailer's announcement that it will create 7,000 new jobs in the coming months at its warehouses and other sites across the UK.

The increase will take the company’s total permanent UK workforce to more than 40,000.

Amazon say they have already taken on 3,000 new employees this year, so by the end of 2020 it will have recruited 10,000 extra staff in this country.

Amazon said the new roles include engineers, graduates, human resources, IT, health and safety and finance specialists, as well as the teams who will pick, pack and ship customer orders, which will help it meet growing customer demand.

John Stevenson, MP for Carlisle, said: "The arrival of Amazon has seen a positive amount of investment into Carlisle and Cumbria.

"They've made a tremendous investment nationally but locally job creation has to be welcomed.

"It is highlighting the confidence businesses have in Carlisle and the border region more generally."

Mr Stevenson is calling on high streets to adapt to survive.

"There are a lot of city centres and town centres going through a difficult time and this is likely to continue," he said.

"They will have to adapt and change.

"The Government is investing in the high street through the High Street Fund and the Towns Fund.

"We can't stop investment in other businesses and other ways of doing it.

"We want to be part of that.

"It shows we are an attractive place to invest in."