Animal rights activist says she will create up to 500 jobs in County Durham

A former crisp factory in the north-east of England will be turned into Britain’s biggest vegan food producer, creating up to 500 jobs in the area, according to its owner, the former model Heather Mills.

VBites in County Durham will take over the former Walkers factory and turn protein from seaweed, peas and other plants into substitutes for beef, chicken, pork, salmon and tuna, according to Mills, who told the BBC the factory would be the biggest of its kind in the UK.