A Bradford food firm is to create 60 new jobs after scooping a £10 million contract - the biggest in its history.

Food service supplier Swithenbank, which has seen its fortunes transformed since being bought out last March, has won a deal to supply fruit and vegetables to the catering sector around the UK.

The contract win will see the workforce at the Euroway-based business expand from 150 to more than 200 in the next few months.

And it marks a remarkable turnaround for the long-established business which was in receivership three years ago and faced an uncertain future until being snapped-up by £1 billion-turnover firm called 3663 last year.

It now supplies food around the UK from its hi-tech refrigerated factory and boasts a dedicated fleet of 28 lorries plus, through the group network, more than 200 delivery vehicles.

"Since we were taken over by 3663, the business has gone from strength to strength," said site general manager Stephen Murphy. "It is a tough industry to make a buck in, but we are getting quite successful at it."

The new posts will include factory supervisors, order pickers and packers. Swithenbank has already launched a recruitment campaign and Mr Murphy said he was encouraged by the response.

"Recruitment is traditionally quite difficult and there is a problem with transport for people getting to this site because there is no bus service," he said.

"We are still hopeful that we will be able to fill these positions fairly quickly."

He said the £10 million contract was the biggest single deal in the history of the firm which was founded on Bradford Market and moved into its current premises in 1997.

It supplies fruit, vegetable and other fine food supplies to hotels, restaurants and other caterers by buying in bulk and then breaking the supplies down into smaller individual orders.

Its new owners, 3663, are a £1 billion-turnover operation with 40 depots around the UK.