Cafe owner Tony Wells is normally banging his head against a wall at this time of year as his regular trade peters out.

He makes the odd breakfast and cups of coffee here and there for the small dribble of customers who file through the doors before starting their working day.

But this year, hungry workmen at the new multi-million-pound power station at Shoreham Harbour have turned his seafront cafe into a goldmine.

Every day, dozens of burly construction workers from all over Great Britain and Ireland have been descending on Carrots Cafe in Basin Road South, Southwick, for breakfast and lunch. Wearing hard hats and harnesses, and armed to the teeth with tools, they spell boomtime for the cafe, which suffered serious damage in storms last October and December.

Tony, who has run the business for nine years, was left counting the cost when gale-force winds resulted in the cafe being flooded by the sea.

The roof was ripped off, the electrics were damaged by water and catering equipment, including microwave ovens and a freezer, were ruined.

But now the lads employed by South Coast Power on the new £200 million gas-fired power station are stoking up the coffers with their appetites for food.

And big fry-ups are their favourite fodder.

There are steelworkers from Scotland, brickies from Birmingham and labourers from Leeds, all part of a 350-strong workforce that is set to increase to 450 in the coming weeks.

And the big breakfasts seem to be working wonders because the power station, which will provide up to 400,000 homes from Worthing to Brighton with electricity, is a month ahead of schedule.

A 320-tonne gas turbine and a 230- tonne transformer have already been installed and a huge generator will soon be arriving by sea.

Tony's mum, Mary, said she has had to stock up with extra potatoes and bacon to meet the demand, which is expected to continue until November.

She said: "In the summer, we are packed, but in the winter it is usually a lot quieter. This year the power station workers have done us proud.

"They come from all over the place, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and up north. They are a very pleasant bunch.

"It is non-stop in the mornings, with really big full English breakfasts the most popular.

"Once a workman has a really good breakfast it sets him up for the day.

"They do like their food, but they have to work very hard and soon work it off.

"Their custom has helped us along during a sticky patch.

"During the big gales, the cafe was knee-deep in water and we lost a lot of equipment."

The workmen quite like the cafe's decor as well.

Dozens of photographs of sex siren Marilyn Monroe adorn the walls, getting the thumbs-up from the lads.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.