A NEW 127-bedroom hotel in the heart of Barrow town centre is nearing completion.

Senior structural engineer Graham Meakin visited the site of the Holiday Inn Express in Market Street directly opposite Barrow Town Hall.

Mr Meakin shared a series of pictures showing the new hotel taking shape.

A restaurant will be based in part of the ground floor of the new hotel while the rooms will be spread across four storeys.

A number of contractors are involved in the hotel's construction including Barrow-based Harry Barker Properties which has carried out groundworks at the site.

The main contractor is Bowmer & Kirkland which is building the hotel on behalf of Ashall Projects.

Construction began in September, following the demolition of the police station, and the hotel is set to be completed by November 1, 2019.

Stuart Klosinski from the Furness Economic Development Forum revealed he had been involved in ensuring some of the construction jobs were made available locally.

"We were delighted with the commitment received from Ashall and its contractor to working with us and Jobcentre plus to deliver potential opportunities for local people and local firms to benefit from this massive town centre investment," he said.

The new hotel sits on the site which was formerly the home of Barrow Police Station for decades after being built in 1958.

The Holiday Inn is the latest in a series of accommodation projects in Barrow to take advantage of contractors in the town.