A NEWLY-opened bakery could face ruin after being plunged into darkness because of a former tenant’s unpaid electricity bill.

Staff at the Town Mill Bakery in Dorchester have tried their best to stay open despite having their electricity cut off.

An npower spokeswoman said the power had been cut of because the company was not informed about the new tenants.

The Tudor Arcade bakery now faces an uncertain future, with the blackout having cost the organic eatery nearly half a week’s takings.

Owner Clive Cobb and his staff, who opened their doors in the county town just five weeks ago, have resorted to serving customers by candlelight in a bid to keep the business running.

They used an extension lead running from the back of the arcade to provide hot water.

The bakery was only able to serve tea, toast and a selection of breads.

Mr Cobb, 62, said: “This could kill us as a company. I have told npower this could bankrupt us.”

He said that after numerous telephone calls the bakery paid a £4,000 security deposit and was told the electricity would be turned on again.

“You could go broke from being in the right. I’ve got 37 employees at four different bakeries and we have to look after them.

“This has been stomach-churning. I can’t sleep but I am surprised and delighted by the support that Dorchester people have shown,” Mr Cobb said.

Bakery employee Jessica Hallatt, 18, said: “This has been so frustrating and embarrassing.

“The customers were great about it, they all insisted on paying for their drinks and people have been coming in all day for a cup of tea."

Tudor Arcade traders rallied round to support the bakery through its crisis. Lesley Martin, owner of the Stuart Turner confectionery shop, was in the bakery at the time the power was cut off.

She said: “It made me feel so sad that an independent business can be treated so unfairly. No business can afford to lose the trade especially in these hard times.”

An npower spokeswoman said the electricity supply would be re-connected today She added: “The tenants have been in the property since September but we were never informed they had moved in, nor could they produce evidence that they were the new tenants.

“This illustrates how important it is for new tenants to inform their energy supplier as soon as they move into a property.”