A new McDonald's drive-thru will open at a popular motorway services at the beginning of next year.

The fast-food chain was granted approval last month for the extension of its current site just off Junction 8 of the M20 near Maidstone.

McDonald's currently shares a building with Costa Coffee and WHSmith at the Roadchef services near Leeds Castle.

At the beginning of October plans to remove an ATM from the site and erect a slip road for a drive-thru were approved.

Work has already begun at the site, with a large part of the parking area being boarded off, and it will open in January.

It will be the second drive-thru at the services opposite the current Costa one.

Plans were originally refused in September due to the absence of a transport assessment, but were then given the green light at a council meeting last month.

The site currently has 292 parking spaces and would lose 37 as a result of the changes.

Documents for the plans on Maidstone council's planning application portal reveal there would not be a change in the number of jobs at the restaurant.

Last year the services were ranked among the worst in the UK, with Tripadvisor reviewers criticising its "filthy toilets" and "zombie like" staff.

The Roadchef rest area also came in the bottom 10 of almost 70 service stations rated by Which? members.

You can view the plans on the council website by searching reference 22/502925/FULL.