A flagship Shropshire fast-food restaurant is supersizing and leading a national drive to speed up sales.

McDonald’s at Telford’s Forge Retail Park has installed a dual-lane drive-through facility to enable staff to serve double the amount of customers at the same time.

It is one of just three stores in England operated by the burger giants to open the dual service for motorists to cope with expanding demand.

Despite government campaigns for healthier eating, McDonald’s has had its busiest summer ever with UK stores handling 100 million orders a month. Sales are up 12 per cent on last year and the firm admits it is benefiting from the recession as people turn to bargain-priced meals.

Keith Bridges, manager of the Forge Retail Park restaurant, said the spiralling sales figures were mirrored in Telford.

“The dual drive-through is proving to be a success because the sales growth is very healthy,” said Mr Bridges.

He said the dual-lane serveries were installed when the restaurant was refurbished in the summer.

“We are one of the pilot restaurants in the UK and McDonald’s bring people to Telford if they want to see how an outlet should operate. Corporately and technically we are one of the top restaurants in England,” added Mr Bridges.

The new dual lanes system allows cars to be guided into side-by-side lanes where menus are displayed on kerbside signs.

Two drivers can then ask for meals at the same time before being guided to the same serving hatch.

Other dual-lane schemes are planned for Tamworth in Staffordshire.