A PETROL station is to be extended - to incorporate a pharmacy.

The Mercury Service Station in Manchester Road, Westhoughton, has been granted planning permission to extend its current retail building and install a chemist's shop.

The pharmacy will be open between 9am and 11pm Monday through to Saturday and between 9am and 9pm on Sunday.

An additional cash machine will also be installed at the site, which is at the Chequerbent roundabout.

Keith Watmuff, the agent acting on behalf of the petrol station's owner, told Bolton Council's planning committee that the expansion was necessary so the business could survive.

He said: "This will be a local pharmacy service in an out of town location. This development will help my client's business to be sustained."