British Chip shop owner shuts up shop after being threatened over 'racist' sign boasting about its 'English owners'... and now a Cypriot has re-opened it selling only 'English meals'

And the Cypriot will be OK of course

A chip shop owner has removed a ‘racist’ banner boasting that the business now had ‘English owners’, after his predecessor received threats to burn it down.

Previous owner Paul Bradbury - who put the sign up at the Chippy on the Green in Padiham, Lancashire, after taking it over last August - has gone back to Liverpool with his wife Rachel after shutting up shop.

The couple had put a banner outside which said ‘Under new management with English owners’ - but Mr Bradbury said that he received two threatening phone calls from people calling him racist.

They left the shop and moved away from the area earlier this year - and new owner Sotos Orfanides has now adapted the sign to read ‘Under new management with English meals’.

Mr Orfanides, who is originally from Cyprus and also owns a Greek restaurant in Liverpool, had previously been renting the Chippy on the Green to Mr and Mrs Bradbury.

He said: ‘I don’t think the original sign was racist, but there was a big thing about it being racist. No one is racist in this shop. They were English and they were serving some English food.

‘I changed the sign because people were calling and threatening to burn the shop down. I care about the business, so I changed it. Paul and Rachel went back to Liverpool because of the threats. They weren’t racist.’

The shop had previously been run by English people of East Asian and of Greek descent. It used to sell English and Chinese food, kebabs and pizza under Mr and Mrs Bradbury but is now going to mainly sell fish and chips.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said at the time of the threats: ‘Police officers from the Padiham neighbourhood team went to the shop after becoming aware of the threats.

‘The owner told officers he did not want to pursue the matter and so we can’t take any further action.’

The shop was reopened last week after a refurbishment and is being managed by one of Mr Orfanides’s relatives.

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