Popular Canadian coffee and doughnut house Tim Hortons is coming to Blackburn, creating 50 jobs.

The fast-food chain is to take over the former Carphone Warehouse unit on the Towns Moor Retail Park in Great Bolton Street.

The move follows the firm opening its first Lancashire outlet in Burnley's Anchor Retail Park in November last year.

It has been granted planning permission by Blackburn with Darwen Council to convert the mobile phone shop into a coffee shop / restaurant, and will also have a drive-thru.

A planning statement submitted with the application says: "Tim Hortons is a relatively new entrant to the UK market and can best be described as a restaurant chain with a coffee and bakehouse offer.

"The brand was founded in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It has since grown into Canada’s most-loved brand with over 4,500 stores from coast to coast.

"Known affectionately as ‘Timmy’s’, it is a place famous for its fresh coffee and baked goods and is visited by more than 5.3m Canadians daily.

"Tim Hortons opened its first store in the UK in 2017 and now has over 70 units across the UK, with more opening soon.

"Its current focus is to expand its drive-thru model across the UK, including at the proposal site.

"The Tim Hortons offer is different from that provided by the likes of McDonalds, KFC and Burger King and is comparable to that provided by coffee shop operators such as Costa or Starbucks, with a substantial part comprising hot and cold beverages and bakery items, including an extensive choice of donuts.

"The hot food offer includes paninis and ‘melts’ as well as hot sandwiches and wraps.

"Tim Hortons also places great emphasis on the ambiance of its coffee shop / restaurant facilities, encouraging customers to dine in."

The new coffee house will see a small extension for chiller and freezer storage; alterations to the pedestrian access including the realignment of the pedestrian footpath, and upgrades to the building’s facades to provide a service window, introduce new glazing and improve its external appearance.

There will also be new illuminated signs for the brand on the building, but permission for a stand-alone illuminated 'Totem' sign has been refused.

The planning statement says: "The site is considered to be suitable for the use which has specific locational criteria as a result of the need to accommodate a drive-thru lane.

"The proposal will also result in the the reuse and occupation of a vacant building; the introduction of a facility complementary to the surrounding retail and commercial uses; the creation of new temporary jobs during construction and approximately 50 permanent jobs; and the physical regeneration of a site which will provide an attractive, contemporary building within the retail park."

A planning officer's report recommending approval with conditions says: "Tim Hortons has an immediate business requirement to open in the area.

"Given the lack of any coherent architectural form and mix of materials in the locality, the proposed changes are considered to assimilate satisfactorily with the commercial appearance of the immediate setting."

It will be the second Tim Horton's in East Lancashire, after a restaurant opened in Burnley last year.