McDonald's has helped to create jobs and bring investment into some of the UK's most deprived areas, according to a think-tank The Work Foundation.

The foundation's report, called Who is Being Served?, found the franchise model favoured by McDonald's helped to generate wealth, with 60% of revenue retained within the local area, equivalent to an average of £900,000 per restaurant per year.

Andy Westwood, the report's author, said: "McDonald's has a business model that confers far more on local communities than most people would credit. These are local businesses that recruit, train and promote local people - often the ones who are overlooked in other parts of the labour market."

- McDonald's has launched a two-week UK poster campaign that replaces the world famous golden arches with a golden question mark.