THE owners of a game shop are living in a "nightmare" after their business was forced to close over 50 times in three years due to a broken sewage pipe, writes SWNS reporter Filipa Gaspar.

Neil and Amy Potter opened their specialist gaming shop in Penzance and they have since been involved in ongoing dispute with South West Water (SWW).

The traders claim that for years they have had strong odours and constant flooding caused by a faulty manhole. They estimate to have lost thousands after being flooded with sewage on more than 50 occasions since they opened the shop in December 2022.

Neil, 47, believes the sewage issues cost him £250k in lost earnings, cancelled events and loss of reputation. His wife has been left with complex PTSD as a consequence of the stress caused by the sewage and strong odours.

Neil said that all their plans have been "kneecapped". He added: "What should have been three years of happiness turned out into three years of stress.

"It just put an hold on everything - we haven't been able to do anything. It just been very restrictive for a very long time. It has been a nightmare for three years. It destroyed your ability to grow the business in the way we wanted to.

"You got a new business, which is a nightmare currently, and it is a very large building. It was catastrophic we were trying to build the reputation and we had to close all the time."

Neil recalls that the first weeks just after they opened the issues started with odours and flood water on the floor.

He said: "We contacted South West Waters and they said it is a private asset and they were not responsible for it.

"It took nine months for them to sent someone in - they finally admitted to say it is their manhole cover and pipes. We had a cafe that we chose to close as part of the shop because of the constant floods."

With two floors above the shop, the couple's idea was to open the first gaming hotel in the UK. But with unresolved flooding issues and piping they had to put their plan on hold.

Neil added: "In the first year from December 2022 to December 2023 we had roughly about 30 odd floods. It didn't really change the following years because no work was done.

"They [SWW] came in November last year to replace the manhole cover but the manhole cover wasn’t air tight so we continued to have floods - they replaced it with a faulty one. It was going to be the UK's first gaming hotel and we can’t go ahead and put six bathrooms into a building that can’t hold one."

Neil believes the sewage issues cost him £250k in lost earnings, cancelled events and loss of reputation and revenue. Plus additional costs from not being able to open the hotel and use the upstairs area.

But it has also taken a massive toll on his and his wife's mental health through stress.

Neil added: "It has affected my wife a lot more serious - she has been in counselling.

"She has been diagnosed with PTSD because of this. It is that constant stress and anxiety that it causes - it makes it hard to keep motivated on the business. She had to live three years in fear because of the constant flooding."

SWW have started remedial work inside his store three weeks ago, with a view to having a grand reopening date sometime by the second week of June.

But Neil admits the dispute with SWW is "ongoing", adding that they are planning to take the case to court.

He said: "Our solicitors are happy that we can take this to court because of the evidence we have over the three years. They are happy that South West Water will lose in court due to criminal negligence.

"They told us lies but also due to loss of earnings and loss of opportunities we can take them to court. We will seek damages because they caused my wife to be diagnosed with complex PTSD - built up due to stress."

The couple are hoping to reopen the shop by the second week of June.

"We are going to give it a chance to start the business the way we always wanted without these issues," Neil added. "It is the rebirth of the business and finally turn it the way we want it to be."

A spokesperson for South West Water said: "Whilst we are unable to comment on specific legal cases, we take any situations like this very seriously and we are very sorry for the disruption this has caused.

"This has been an incredibly complex repair due to multiple factors but our teams are working hard to finish in the next few weeks."