British Gas is set to hire hundreds of new staff for its energy contact centres at five locations across the UK - including one in Greater Manchester.

The energy firm plans to create around 700 jobs by the end of the year to strengthen its customer service teams in Stockport, Leicester, Leeds, Edinburgh and Cardiff.

British Gas also plans to provide additional training to its staff on assisting customers facing financial difficulties. Despite a recent decrease in energy prices, British Gas anticipates that customers will still require support.

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The recruitment drive also means that contact centre opening hours for British Gas customers will be extended to between 8am and 6pm on weekdays and between 9am and 2pm on Saturdays.

Chris O'Shea, chief executive of Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, said: "Although energy prices have come down slightly, many of our customers are still struggling overall with the cost of living and need to speak to us for longer about their energy bills."

"Strengthening our UK call centre operations will allow us to help more households with expert advice and support during this time. I'm extremely proud of how our expert teams support our customers every day in the past year they've helped over one million customers who've been struggling to afford their bills with additional support such as grants, debt relief and payment plans."

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.