A WICKFORD architects firm is expanding.

Ayshford Sansome, in Lower Southend Road, has employed three new staff to cope with growing demand.

Neil Forster, from Rayleigh, will be joined by recent graduates Meis Alsaegh and Bryin Lindoe, who both studied architecture at the University of Brighton.

Rob Westbrook, who was appointed a partner of the firm in January, said: “We are delighted that Neil, Meis and Bryin have decided to join our team.

“Together they bring a combination of experience, design skills and new ideas into the practice, as well as increasing our capacity to serve our growing number of existing and new clients.”

Mr Forster, who spent 14 years at London firm Alexander Sedgley, started his career in property services at Essex County Council.

Miss Alsaegh, who has a keen interest in the environmental aspects of buildings, brings with her knowledge of different cultures, having been born in Iraq and spending time living in Sweden and the Czech Republic.

Mr Lindoe is a keen cyclist and musician who has worked with Portsmouth Sculpture and Quarry Trust on a proposed environmentally-friendly method of burial.