A POPULAR seaside restaurant may be forced to close after it was gutted by debt collectors in a case of mistaken identity.

Bailiffs broke down the door of Naked Fish in Bridlington.

Ovens were ripped out, furniture was removed and even frozen fish and alcohol were confiscated.

A cooker was ripped out with such force, it caused a gas leak.

Kent-based debt collectors Sherforce claimed Naked Fish had unpaid debts and they had a High Court writ ordering the money be recouped from the business.

But, within a couple of hours Sherforce apparently admitted there had been "a terrible mistake".

It is still not clear how the error was made.

Owner James Goacher said they had caused a huge amount of damage and he had suffered four months of lost earnings since it happened in November.

The restaurant has been closed ever since while Mr Goacher tried to obtain a loan to have the kitchen equipment refitted or replaced.

The 31-year-old, who opened a second branch of Naked Fish in Hull city centre last June, said: "I was cooking at the Hull restaurant when I got a call from a neighbour in Bridlington to say a group of men were cutting the door down.

"He put one of them on the phone and he said they had a writ for Naked Fish from a company I'd never heard of."

Mr Goacher drove up to Bridlington immediately, but the restaurant, which was closed at the time, had already been cleared out.

He said: "I was devastated. I had put four years of my life into building up my restaurant.

"The fridges had been removed with all the food still inside, even the pictures had been taken off the walls. I was so humiliated."

After two hours of arguing with the bailiffs, they said he could sign a declaration stating the debt was nothing to do with him. He immediately signed it.

Mr Goacher said: "They became sympathetic. They said there had been 'a terrible mistake'."

Mr Goacher was told he would still have to pay to get the equipment back from storage. He refused.

On December 23, the High Court in London ordered everything be returned within seven days.

Mr Goacher, who lives in Brandesburton with his partner and six-year-old son, said: "What really worries me is the damage this has done to my reputation.

"People in the town thought I had gone bankrupt. I was ashamed to go out after it happened."

A High Court battle will now determine whether Sherforce can claim immunity from prosecution because of a loophole in the law protecting bailiffs.

After that, a separate claim will have to be filed to recoup the £132,000 Mr Goacher believes he is owed.

He said: "If I am not awarded compensation, there is a good chance I will have to close.

"I have worked so hard and now it could be taken away from me because of a mistake.

"I am hoping to reopen the Bridlington restaurant soon, but I just hope my customers will come back."

Sherforce declined to comment while the legal proceedings were active.