THE new Wetherspoons in Basildon, which has cost about £3m to create, is set to open next week.

Conversion of the site from retail use to a pub has taken more than a year but doors will open for the first time on Tuesday October 21, with the creation of 52 new jobs.

Work is almost complete.

The new pub, which will be called Sigered, King of Essex is on East Walk, Eastgate Shopping Centre.

Hundreds of years ago, each county had its own monarch, and Essex was no different. The pub's name is inspired by Sigeric of Essex, who became king of Essex in 798 following his father's abdication, inheriting a realm already under the shadow of powerful neighbours like Mercia and Wessex.

The Kingdom of Essex, also known as the Kingdom of the East Saxons, was founded in the 6th century.