Stallholders at yesterday’s Redbridge Jobs and Training Fair were amazed by the amount of visitors to the event.

People packed into Redbridge town hall to see the vacancies and courses on offer and were queuing outside the building by noon.

One worker from Sainsbury’s in Newbury Park said the supermarket’s stall had been “manic”.

Val, who did not want her second name printed, said: “I feel a bit like Posh Spice, so many people have been coming up to me.”

The stall was offering advice and information on Sainsbury’s careers and qualifications offered to employees.

Donna Weaver, deputy store manager of Debenhams in Ilford, said her stall offering job vacancies at the department store had been getting constant attention.

She added: “This is madness compared to last year but it just shows how times have changed.

“A lot of people coming to us today have been made redundant, you’ve got to feel sorry for people looking for jobs at the moment.”

Attendants at the London City Airport stall said 300 leaflets on job vacancies were taken in two hours.

Companies including Avon were at the fair along with colleges, universities, training providers and volunteer groups.

Recruitment agencies and careers advice were on offer as well as a CV surgery.