A seafront trader is suing BT for tens of thousands of pounds claiming it brought his business to the brink of collapse.

John Stephenson has filed a £60,000 claim for damage to stock, loss of earnings and stress after water poured through the pavement above his Brighton shop.

The owner of Albion Gifts in King's Road Arches claims the leak started after BT contractors lifted paving slabs in the road to lay new ducting.

He discovered rain had seeped through his roof, leaving him with a pile of soggy straw hats and a waterlogged cash register.

Mr Stephenson has been battling to get BT to admit responsibility for the damage and to have the leak repaired.

Now, after more than four years, he has launched his battle in Brighton County Court.

Mr Stephenson, 40, has already shelled out more than £2,000 in legal fees but has ditched his solicitor and is proceeding with the case alone.

The father-of-two, of Woodhouse Road, Hove, suffers from multiple sclerosis and epilepsy and his wife Lisa is in remission from cancer.

He said: "I'm sure I'm not the only person in this country who feels downtrodden by big business. I am determined to keep pursuing this.

"With the stress this has caused us and my business going down the toilet they are destroying my life."

BT has investigated the complaint but denies responsibility for any hole.

The company says the work of its contractors did not involve any excavation underneath the pavement.

BT has told Mr Stephenson it will no longer reply to his letters on the subject and has asked him to stop phoning the company.

A spokeswoman said: "We are aware he has lodged the matter in the court and because of that there is not a lot we can say except that we will defend our case in court if it comes to that.

"We have tried to negotiate with Mr Stephenson but we will keep in contact with the court."

In a letter to Mr Stephenson, Prakash Mistry, of BT's dispute solutions department, said: "Having reviewed all the evidence, there is no suggestion on the balance of probabilities that BT's works caused any damage to the membrane and sand underneath the paving flagstones above your property."

But Mr Stephenson said: "They say they carried out no excavation under the pavement but whatever they did up there it caused my roof to leak."