A BOAT-BUILDING firm in Brightlingsea hopes to take on more staff after it got approval to build a new warehouse.

Work constructing a 5,500 sq ft boat shed at CTruk Boats, in Copperas Road, is due to finish later this month after Tendring Council gave the green light in April.

The expansion will mean CTruk, which has already grown from three staff to 35 in its first two years, can employ more skilled workers.

Six boats are due to be launched in the next six months at the firm.

Ben Simpson, managing director, said: “Our staff are very good and important to us, it is a serious team effort.

“To be able to build the boats we have in the time we have had is down to the quality of the team. We take our hats off to what is a team of very skilled and hard-working guys.

“The new boat shed, the staff and the design all means we can build boats in half the time of our competitors.

“There will be the opportunity to take on more staff and we are always looking for enthusiastic skilled people.”

CTruk's boats are predominantly used in building and servicing offshore wind farms.

They use an innovative resin infusion construction technique making boats lighter and more fuel efficient, while a new hull design means the vessels can withstand higher wave heights and be used more days each year.