A LEADING DIY chain will create 200 jobs on the Isle of Wight.

Chandler's Ford-based B&Q will open a new warehouse store in Newport next June.

The new out-of-town store will replace the smaller superstore which is currently open nearer the town centre.

All the staff at the old shop will have jobs at the improved warehouse store in addition to the 200 jobs created for anyone passionate about DIY.

Positions will cover the whole spectrum from management to shop floor workers.

But the company will also employ 20 experts to help customers with specific queries.

Areas of expertise will include plumbing, interior design and electrical work.

Recruitment will begin in January when details of the company's employment hotline will be released.

Communications manager Jacqueline Horrix said the standard of training would be very high.

B&Q, which is owned by Kingfisher, developed the Medina Way site in the former grounds of the Isle of Wight College when research on the Island indicated high demand for more DIY.

Planning was awarded as part of a multimillion-pound regeneration scheme.

The Isle of Wight College generated £9m in revenue - to fund a learning resource centre, sports hall, nursery, entrance area and mobile classrooms - with the sale of their former car park.

Head of facilities Derek Kingsland said: "The project has given us the way forward to invest in the college's premises.

"Our principal is as keen and enthusiastic as the students are that the scheme is going ahead thanks to B&Q.

"The capital receipts will benefit the college by bringing it up to a modern style."

To find out more about a career at B&Q visit their website at www.diy.com/careers