THE grand opening of a new fish and chip shop saw customers flock through the door - but not until a power related disaster threatened to ruin the occasion.

Dotties Traditional Fish and Chips in Millom had a nightmare introduction to the community when a power cut struck 15 minutes before they were due to open.

However, things quickly turned around for the team and the event was an overall success despite the early set back.

Joe Moyes, owner of Dotties, said: “It was a great success, although it started off badly as we had a power cut shortly before our grand opening which meant we had to delay things for about an hour.

“However, the girls were brilliant and caught up with everything quickly.

“The shop has been busy in the evenings and during the day.

“We have been slowly bringing in the eating-in aspect with caution around coronavirus. It has been 12 hour non-stop days currently.”

Mr Moyes, 29, and his fiancée Lindsey Britton, 25, have been working non stop over lockdown to get their new venture up and running.

Mr Moyes is a self employed carpenter and joiner who works across the country, so his skills came in handy when he built his new food outlet entirely from scratch.

The pair are offering a traditional menu, as well as putting their own spin on things, and they are also doing deals for OAPs and children.

Considering neither have eve worked in a chip shop before, they are delighted with how things are going and have already been enjoying good reviews online.

Mr Moyes added: “It has been going really well though, we’re doing swimmingly. Especially considering we have never worked in a chippy before.

“We have received a lot of good reviews online as well which is really nice to see.”

The chippy employs five staff and on their opening night had one person try their Man vs Food challenge. However despite a valiant effort from the customer, unfortunately they couldn’t finish the supersize dish.