A DISPUTE over the existence of a family-owned internet caf in Trowbridge has led to the threat of legal action just two months after it opened for business.

Chris Stepney and her two teenage children opened the Virtual Reality internet caf at Court Mills on October 18.

But after issues with their landlord they decided to move the business when the lease ran out just two weeks later.

After taking the computer equipment to new premises in Shires Yard they found the locks had been changed at Court Mills and the rest of their property, valued at £150,000, was still inside.

Mrs Stepney claims she has spent the last two months trying to gain access to the building and on Friday she turned up with police.

Building owner Tom Rothschild, of RH Tomlin-ssons, said he would not let the family in unless they signed a new contractual agreement, which the family refused. They were later allowed access to their possessions but claim £50,000 of property is still missing.

Danny Stepney, 19, who has taken a year out of his education to start up the business, said: "Because of the ongoing and unresolved planning issues between Mr Rothschild and the local planning authority we have been forced to close.

"Now we want to start again and want to rally the support of the people of Trowbridge. We had so much support and custom when we opened and we do not want to lose those loyal customers."

But landlord Mr Roths-child disputes the fact Mrs Stepney ever opened the business in Court Mills and said the unit had instead been used for storage.

He said: "She was trying to obtain finance for an internet caf but never actually opened it. A finance company had been pressing us to let us have the equipment that she had in storage, but I did not want to give it to them and get involved so I arranged for her to come and collect it herself.

"I was perfectly happy to store any equipment she wanted to store there. As long as she paid the rent it was not a problem for me, but I did not want to get dragged into the legal side of it."

The family is now reviewing their situation and the possibility of taking legal action. Mrs Stepney said she is hoping to reopen the caf somewhere in Trowbridge next year.

She said: "We will be back and we would like to apologise to the people of Trowbridge about the delay in getting the internet caf up and running.

"We especially want to apologise to a group of youngsters who paid 50 pence membership fees when we first opened. We cannot contact them because all our paperwork is lost but they were so keen and supported us."