Antoaneta Toncheva (left) and Ivanka Semerdzkieva were among those went to the drop-in morning

A woman with long dark hair on the left is smiling at the camera and next to a woman with long blonde hair on the right. They are prominent in the photo and a board including words is partially visible on the far left.

Employees who lost their jobs at a food company have been forming a queue to get into another nearby firm offering work.

Primafruit in Evesham hosted a drop-in morning on Friday, after Kanes Foods Limited went into administration, with the loss of more than 600 jobs.

About 12 permanent roles are being advertised and the former said about 100 seasonal jobs were available in the run-up to Christmas, with it hoping to convert some of the temporary jobs into permanent ones.

More than 100 people, who could take their CV, went to the session attended by HR advisors.

Mother-of-two Ivanka Semerdzkieva, 38, said she worked at Kanes Foods, which operated near Evesham, for 10 years, with the last three as a production shift manager.

Semerdzkieva said she was informed by email, adding she had "been on holiday for two weeks so I didn't expect that".

"It was a shock for me.... We were working like normal, orders were coming, we were doing our job and everything was like normal.

"[I] need another job. I have family, I have two children, so I need to look after them, yeah."

Asked about Primafruit's drop-in session at Vale Business Park, she replied: "That was really kind from them and we appreciate that help. Hopefully they will give us some positions so we can start working."

A man with a beard and grey hair is looking at the camera. He is wearing a black, white and grey top and people are in the background, with some sitting and others standing.

Antoaneta Toncheva, 31, who said she appreciated Primafruit's efforts, stated she worked at Kanes Foods for almost eight years before leaving and returning three months ago.

She added: "We all knew that there were some financial difficulties, but nothing officially has been said to us."

Ben Murphy, 32, who stated he had a senior job as a despatch team manager, said it was "fairly busy" at the company and "hard, but it was good work".

Asked about what happened on Monday, he replied that at about 15:30 GMT people were told there would be a meeting at 16:00 and workers attended and got told "'Kanes is no longer trading'".

"We all didn't know what to do, what to say. It definitely took us by surprise," he added.

Murphy, who said he had two children and two stepchildren, stated he had "got bills to pay".

"I think it's fantastic what they're [Primafruit are] doing. It gives everybody opportunity to hopefully get back into work straight away."

A man with mainly dark hair and wearing glasses is prominent in the image. Walls and about half a dozen people are in the background.

Tilak Raj, from Birmingham, who had worked at Kanes for 21 years, is in his 60s and said he was "very keen to carry on working".

Muhammad Luqman, 38, who had worked there for nearly 13 years, said some colleagues had been with the company for about three decades.

"One week before, they were saying they're 'gonna sell the company' and [the] next week they said '[it's] finished'."

More than 30 people are in the room, with some sitting and others standing. One wall is green and two others are white/grey.

Jordan Beckley, from Primafruit, said it "can't get away from the fact that this is people's lives and we're playing the small bit that we can where we can".

"We, like Kanes, are a big local employer and we wanted to do our bit and this was our way of doing it."

Adminstrators PwC have said Kanes Foods faced "significant financial and operational challenges" over the last few years.

The firm dates back to 1990 and sold pre-packaged salads, stir-fry products and sauces to several major UK supermarkets.

The entrance to a factory site with trees either side of a small road. In the distance there is a large building with green and white lorries parked in front of it. On the left in the foreground is a green and white sign which reads "Kanes Foods"

A man wearing a white t-shirt is standing against a brick wall, leaning up against it.

An elderly person with their back to the camera and a shopping basket with some food in it on the floor next to them. They are wearing dark blue trousers and a beige coat with a blue beanie hat. They are facing the long fridges inside a supermarket