Heron Foods has been asked to reconsider opening a shop in Cleator Moor after the firm announced it was looking to expand. 

The discount frozen foods retailer said it would not open store in the town last year despite strong local support for one. 

However the chain, which already has stores in Workington, Whitehaven, Maryport, Egremont and Barrow, has announced it is looking for sites in other towns. 

The town council is now contacting the chain to raise the case for opening a store in Cleator Moor once again. 

In October last year, the retailer issued a letter responding to a 400-name petition in support of a local store saying the area's population is adequately served by its existing shops. 

Sid Linfoot, who now lives on Hensingham, came up with the idea which he believes will bring jobs and "something a little different" to the town. 

Although he has nothing to do with the frozen food retailer, Mr Linfoot said he is championing Heron because it would be less imposing on the town than a bigger chain such as Tesco or Asda. 

"I got the idea when I was in the Egremont Heron Food store, because I thought it could work really well in Cleator Moor alongside the Co-op," said Mr Linfoot. "I used to live and work up here and I've still got a lot of friends in the town, so I'd like to see more shops opening up." 

Heron was founded in Hull in 1979 and now operates from a 270,000sq ft distribution centre at Melton in East Yorkshire. The business employs 3,000 people and has more than 240 stores, including 53 former Cooltrader outlets acquired from Iceland in 2012. 

It will consider leasehold or freehold premises, between 3,000sq ft and 5,000sq ft in size, in high-street locations or on housing estates. It will also look at new-build and conversion opportunities. 

Owners of suitable sites should contact acquisitions surveyor Ian Crutchley at ian.crutchley@heronfoods.com or 0845 606 3852 - or regional agent Jonathan Netley on 0161 228 6411.