THE UK's largest ice cream products manufacturer has completed a more than half-a-million pounds investment programme in North Yorkshire.

Richmond Ice Cream, of Leeming Bar, has upgraded its warehouse facilities for both packaging and raw materials.

The £560,000 package saw a new racking system installed, enlarging the maximum storage capacity from 800 to 2,500 pallets.

In addition, all ingredients such as milk and whey powders, can now be stored in a 2,400sq metre warehouse.

Richmond also built a 150-pallet capacity chiller store to hold sauces and other products which need to be kept in a temperature controlled environment.

Ibrahim Najafi, Richmond's group operations director, said: "This investment has resulted in a real improvement in our warehousing facilities, which can only mean a further enhancement in the service we offer our customers."

Richmond, which rebranded just before Christmas, has earmarked £4m capital investment over the next four years at Leeming.

Improvements will include a further £310,000 pumped into building a new office complex, a fully air-conditioned kitchen and 80-seater canteen.

Leeming Bar is Europe's largest manufacturer of ice cream by volume, producing 125 million litres of a year.