BRITAIN'S most listened to traffic broadcaster Sally Boazman, known to many BBC Radio 2 listeners as Sally Traffic, called off at Tebay Services to officially open the £500,000 refurbishment of the Junction 38 facilities.

More than 100 invited local villagers, dignitaries and drivers attended the event, at which truckers performed a chorus of honks on their horns to welcome the popular traffic reporter.

After speeches from both Westmorland Ltd chief executive Sarah Dunning and Sally Traffic, it was the turn of Tebay parish vicar the Reverend Dew to say a few words and then, for first time in his life, to say grace in a Truck Stop before good hearty fayre was served to all from the much loved J.38 hotplate.

Sally Traffic said: "What the team at Westmorland Ltd have managed to do is strike a balance in the refurbishment of this impressive site - ensuring that while safe and secure parking is high on the agenda for the truckers, so too are facilities that are invaluable to the local community, from a well-stocked village shop, home-made food to eat in or take away, a 24-hour forecourt and shop plus a free cash point."

Since opening its doors in 1986, J.38 Services has established a reputation for friendly staff offering a warm welcome, a convenient location with extensive parking but above all hearty home-made meals at great prices! Over the years, J.38 has employed many local Tebay, Orton and Gaisgill residents and now employs 22 local people.

The J.38 refurbishment means that locals can now benefit from the new-look village shop. With no village shop of its own, Tebay residents have always had to go further afield for household essentials. Now, bread, milk and tea sit alongside a range of local products including Hawkshead relishes, fresh pies and sausages, frozen foods plus an extensive selection of reasonably priced wines and beers. A pay point will shortly open to allow locals the convenience of paying household bills and J.38 is also an official Bus Terminal, meaning the local residents can catch a daily bus service into Lancashire as far as Blackpool and up into the North East as far as Newcastle.

The 24-hour forecourt shop also provides a lifeline any time of the day or night, having now been expanded from a kiosk-style booth to a fully-fledged shop selling drinks and hot and cold snacks. In addition, local residents can use the car vacuum, air pump, water point and jet wash.

The refurbishment has also transformed the J.38 Serv-ices. The new smoke-free café area, seating 84, is now a light, bright and contemporary space offering an extensive selection of food at reasonable prices - breakfasts starting at £4.75 and lunch and dinner at £4.95. A variety of take away meals is now also available.

For the thousands of truckers that use the services every year, the improvements include security barriers and extensive lighting. CCTV cameras are to be installed imminently, ensuring that J.38 Services will be eligible for the nationally recognised Park Mark Safer Parking' award within the next few months.

New easy-to-follow, colour coded directional signage has been installed around the site and customer feedback has led to the creation of allocated changeover bays plus a dedicated parking area for refrigerated lorries, minimising noise pollution for all customers.