NEW jobs created at a Stretford Mall store for the busy festive rush have brought Christmas cheer to a young man battling unemployment.

B&M Bargains in Stretford Mall has taken on five Christmas temps and one of the positions has gone to Michael Sutherland who has been trying to get a job since leaving school three years ago.

Despite a string of GCSE results and applying for at least a job a month, the 19-year-old had no luck in his long quest for employment.

But all that has now changed since Michael became one of a team of five taken on by B&M to help cope with the big Christmas rush.

Michael said: “I was absolutely over the moon to get one of the jobs on offer.

“A few weeks ago I saw the job at B&M advertised, applied for it and got it, and I’m so delighted because now I can afford to buy some Christmas presents.”

While his hunt for a job went on Michael has been at Bolton Community College, studying public services and sport, which he hopes will help him to achieve his eventual career goal of becoming a personal trainer.

Apart from Michael Sutherland, the other new temps are Mike Lynch of Stretford, 44, and Chris Milech, 23, from Urmston, who are on the early morning “fill” shift, working from 5-9am to replenish the shelves, along with shopfloor customer assistants Hannah Wilson, 18, and Azeem Mahr, 19, who are both from Partington.