BARCLAYS customers can count on seeing some new faces in their local branch after the bank announced the creation of 1,000 new frontline jobs, some of them in Kent and Medway.

As part of the plan, the bank is axing around 800 middle management and support posts, mainly in London.

Kent bosses do not know yet just how many jobs will be coming to the county. Simon Rouse, the bank's retail manager for Kent said: "At this stage it is not possible to be specific about how many of these new jobs will be coming to Kent but with 40 branches throughout the county we will be seeing a significant increase in numbers."

Some 200 new staff have been hired in the past few weeks and recruitment is underway across England and Wales. Barclays expects all new staff to be in post by the end of 2004.

The move is part of a new "customer-facing" strategy that has been in operation for some time following a controversial period of branch closures and pulling back from the regions in the 1990s.

The bank recognised that investment in branches and regions was good for business.

Mr Rouse added: "The new jobs are as a result of customer feedback and are part of our focus on driving up customer service levels.

"The new recruits will be concentrated in our busiest branches. We will be recruiting across the county and are happy to talk to people of all ages."

Roger Davis, chief executive of UK Banking, said that there was more to do to ensure the bank gave consistently excellent service and value for money.

He said: "We have many great people working hard every day for their customers, but they must have the right leadership and the right tools for the job.

"These are the priorities and are two of the critical success factors, which will underpin growth in this business."