An MP swapped the heat of the House of Commons for a McDonald's kitchen as he opened Kent's newest branch of the fast food chain - where he relished the chance to make his own Big Mac.

Craig Mackinlay officially opened the new fast food restaurant and drive-thru at Westwood Cross in Broadstairs which is in his South Thanet constituency.

The branch has opened on the site of the former David Copperfield Harvester in Westwood Road, situated next to KFC and Asda, and will employ 100 people.

Before cutting the ribbon, Mr Mackinlay was given a personal tour around the "Covid-secure" premises by franchisee Paul Crocker.

Mr Crocker has been a McDonald’s franchisee for 25 years, owning and operating 17 other restaurants and employing about 2,000 people across East Kent.

Mr Mackinlay also created his own Big Mac at the Broadstairs branch.

He said: “Many of us enjoy taking our families to McDonald’s for a treat and this new premises in Westwood Road provides a further option for us.

"As part of my visit I had the opportunity of preparing my own burger - ‘Mac makes his own Big Mac’.

“Over the years I have worked with our local McDonald’s branches on various campaigns to help keep Thanet tidy.

"I look forward to working with Paul on these initiatives and am very grateful to everyone at McDonald’s for the faith they continue to put in Thanet.”

Mr Crocker thanked the MP for his visit.

“We have a great team here and are looking forward to being able to welcome people inside the restaurant - hopefully sometime soon," he said.

"It is a lovely building with lots of space, a play place, a family room and we will be offering all our customers table service.”

Read more: All the latest news from Thanet