Greggs is to extend the opening hours at hundreds of shops this year, meaning that customers could soon be able to get their hands on the bakery's hot food as late as 9pm.

The fast food chain, which counts hot sausage rolls and steak bakes among its most popular items, says as part of its 2023 expansion plans it also intends to trial a 24-hour drive-thru outlet as well.

Profits are up according to the company's latest financial results, published this week, which it unveiled alongside confirmation that it hopes to open another 150 new stores this year as well as relocate tens of existing outlets to bigger premises.

Sales, it says, have jumped to £1.5billion in 2022 - up from £1.2billion the previous year.

The total number of Greggs bakeries currently stands at 2,328 - with 186 new premises opening last year - but as part of plans to continue growing Greggs says it eventually hopes to have 'significantly more' than 3,000 shops across the UK.

Yet among more immediate plans are proposals to keep many outlets open for longer.

Already hundreds of Greggs bakeries, located in high streets, in motorway service stations and close to petrol forecourts, are open as late as 7pm or 8pm with chief executive Roisin Currie admitting that many outlets are proving to be extremely popular with customers after 4pm.

The company says it now hopes to extend the trading hours of 300 branches to 9pm by the end of this year alongside exploring the demand for a 24-hour drive thru.

Greggs opened its first drive thru in Kent last month in Sittingbourne while Romney Marsh is getting its first Greggs later this week, after the bakery took a space next to the Esso garage.

The location of the drive-thru that could trial the all day and all night opening hours, and the 300 stores earmarked for later opening hours, have not yet been confirmed.

At the start of this year the price of a Greggs sausage roll rose to £1.20 - the fourth price hike in just over 12 months - having cost just £1 at the end of 2021.