Furniture retailer ScS has created 300 new jobs thanks to a surge in demand for furniture over the last few months.

The sofa and carpet specialist, which has branches in Gloucester and Cheltenham, saw a 92 per cent rise in order from May to July.

And that increase has continued throughout August and September with sales up by 51 per cent.

To meet the demand, the company took on 150 new staff in August with another 150 permanent and fixed-term roles to be filled in its shops, distribution and contact centres.

Chief executive David Knight said: "Due to a sharp rise in orders, we are in the fortunate position of being able to add to our existing workforce.

"In the six weeks leading up to September, our like-for-like order intake grew by 51 per cent, equivalent to £19million of additional revenue.

"We're delighted to be able to invest some of this into new staff members, as we continue to navigate our way through these unprecedented times."

The company, which has moved its distribution team to a larger warehouse, stopped using the furlough scheme in August after topping wages up to 100 per cent throughout lockdown.

Staff who worked throughout the pandemic have been given an extra seven days of holiday entitlement.