SEVENTY new jobs will be created in Teignmouth when the new 'democratic' Waitrose supermarket opens soon.

And all the staff will share the profits and have an input into how the business is run.

The upmarket store, part of the John Lewis partnership, bought the former Co-op store in Lower Brook Street, and this week a major refurbishment of the building started.

Sixty existing Co-op employees have been kept on, and an extra 70 new 'partners' recruited, bringing the staffing level to 130.

'Partners are each entitled to a say in how the business is run, as well as a share of the profits in the form of a yearly bonus, which last year, equated to nine weeks' wages,' said a Waitrose spokesman.