A FAMILY-RUN hardware and DIY business has expanded in Weston with the opening of a new store in Regent Street.

Proper Job, run by father and son team Ray and Peter Tilley, has recently opened its new store and hopes to create more jobs in the town.

There are already Proper Job stores in Devonshire Road in Weston and in Worle High Street, but the duo decided it was time to increase the business even more.

Director Peter said: “Even though we have shops in the town, this one became available and we started negotiations in April. It all worked out, and now we get to start up at this store.”

The business has grown from strength to strength since it launched as Tilley’s Tools in the 1980s.

Originally the trade was based in Cornwall but moved to Weston in the same decade where it was based at the warehouse in Warne Park.

In 1997, the first Proper Job store was opened in Devonshire Road, a second in Worle High Street in 2000 and the warehouse was then moved from Warne Park to Oldmixon Crescent in 2005.

The business currently employs around 130 people and 10-12 more will be hired for the expansion.

Peter said: “We were looking to expand and this place fitted well. We are definitely looking to keep expanding.

“We will offer a very similar service to what we do in all the other stores, only now we have the advantage of being in Weston’s High Street, which is something a little different to being in Worle.

“We hope to get more day-to-day customers who are passing by and those who are doing their shopping in town will hopefully come in and pick up some bits and bobs.

“We will also be creating more jobs for the area, both here in the store and in our distribution centre.

“We will not only be expanding our business but helping to provide more work for others.”