Ikea has started recruiting staff for an experimental branch opening in Norwich this autumn.

The Swedish furniture giant revealed in the Evening News and EDP today that it would open its first Norwich store in the autumn on the Sweet Briar Retail Park.

Thirty jobs will be created and some Ikea customers received an email this morning asking for help to recruit staff.

The email said: 'As a valued customer of Ikea, we thought we would take this unusual step of asking for your assistance in recruiting great people to join our new team in Norwich.

'We are currently recruiting, so if you or someone you know has a passion for home furnishing, energy and drive to deliver excellence in customer care, we would love to meet them.'

Adverts also appeared on the Ikea website this morning for 'Order and Collection Points co-workers'.

Ikea is trying a new format of store in Norwich. It is less than a tenth of the size of a normal store and will only allow customers to browse and collect otrders rather than buy furniture directly.