Scotland's largest independent travel group, Barrhead Travel, is investing £1.5m in the creation of 100 new jobs across Scotland and the north of England.

The Glasgow-headquartered travel provider has unveiled plans to create a mix of full and part-time contracts at stores in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and contact centres in Larbert and Cumbria.

Around 30 roles have been created across its Glasgow stores, 15 at its stores in the Gyle, St James and Cameron Toll shopping centres in Edinburgh, 20 in Larbert and 20 in Cumbria. The total also includes modern apprentice positions and salaried homeworker roles.

Staff are being recruited across a variety of departments at all levels. The creation of new jobs follows increased demand across a number of areas of the business.

Barrhead is looking for applications from candidates with experience of working in the travel industry, but will also welcome enquiries from individuals with general sales experience who have travelled extensively.

Full training will be provided in selected specialisms, including cruise and worldwide travel.

The firm, which currently employs 850 staff across the UK, also plans to open an additional three or more stores in Edinburgh in the coming months, which will involve further job creation.

Barrhead Travel chief executive Sharon Munro said: "As we grow and develop as a business, it's vital for us to invest in job creation. We are very proud to be in a financial position which allows us to invest more than £1m in creating 100 new jobs across Scotland and the north of England.

"Our aim is to assemble the best possible teams of people across each of our specialisms and to provide customers with an unparalleled travel offering. The level of investment and the number of jobs we are creating demonstrates that we are continuing to grow the business and strengthen our team."