Sandwich chain Subway has announced it is to create 6,000 jobs in the UK and Ireland over the next three years.

The company,  famed for its foot-long submarine rolls , will open 600 new branches in the UK and Ireland by 2015, its president and co-founder Fred DeLuca said.

Subway has expanded rapidly in the past seven years, increasing the number of stores in the UK by 500% to 1,423. There are currently 99 in Ireland, with the latest period of expansion taking the combined number of outlets to more than 2,000.

The company, which was was founded in 1965 and has branches in 98 countries, has also agreed to display calorie information on all its menu boards.