MORE than 300 people applied for just 20 jobs at a self-storage centre at the former Hillman Imp car manufacturing site.

Many of the applicants for posts at the giant Store First complex in Linwood, Renfrewshire, had previously been made redundant from other jobs or were long term unemployed.

The scramble for the jobs began immediately after regional manager Joe Cullinane put up public notices around the site. The notices included his phone number.

He said: "My phone never stopped. It just kept ringing. I knew there were a lot of people out there looking for work but I never expected this level of applications."

Mr Cullinane has recruited two supervisors but plans to hire about 20 more full-time staff.

Another 10 part-timers may be employed for what is said to be the biggest self-storage complex in Europe. It will provide facilities for individuals and businesses to use.

Store First chiefs operate from part of what was the sprawling car production site, where thousands of workers made a range of models, including the Hillman Imp.

Production ended in 1981 and part of the site has undergone a multi-million pound transformation involving housing, a retail park and a supermarket.

There are also plans to build hundreds of homes, hotels and pubs, as well as industrial and commercial units including offices and car showrooms.

Store First has spent £10million buying up and upgrading a large empty building.

The Linwood Point site is the Lancashire-based company's first Scottish base but it plans other centres north of the border.

gordon.thomson@ eveningtimes.co.uk