Over 500 new jobs are to be created in Hampshire and Dorset as part of a nationwide expansion drive by supermarket group Asda.

A brand new store will be opened in Basingstoke, creating 450 jobs, while a �25m relocation of a store at Castlepoint, in Bournemouth will create another 150.

The move comes as part of an expansion scheme which will see Asda, owned by US retail giant Wal-Mart, create 3,900 jobs across the UK.

Asda plans to have seven new stores across the country open for business later this year.

Where planning regulations rule out expanding the building outwards, other stores will be extended by adding mezzanine floors to unused loft spaces.

Asda-Wal-Mart president Tony DeNunzio said: "This year's store expansion programme is great news for the areas where we are opening stores."