WORKMEN twice stormed a brand new Blackpool cabaret bar and turned out the lights on entertainer Joe Longthorne.

The outside of the Music Hall Tavern was left in darkness after electricians went onto the roof and cut power cables to a giant £8,500 lighting display bearing his name.

The lighting was installed by one of the tradesmen who claims he is owed thousands of pounds over the venture.

The workmen went onto the roof of the building to remove the power supply.

When they discovered it switched on again the following night a second covert raid followed and the sign was plunged into darkness again.

The venue was opened after Joe had completed a record breaking £1.2 million summer season at the resort's Grand Theatre. At the time the singer said: "It has always been my dream to have my name up in lights like this."

But angry John Wood, boss of JW Signs, said: "Until the signs are paid for they are mine. I have tried for weeks to get the money and when I finally got a cheque for the balance from a Mr Nash, it bounced, so I have twice removed the power supply from the displays.

"In fact I may take the whole lot down. I am owed £3,500 and I am now taking legal action."

On Tuesday the 58-year-old Sussex-based property developer Fred Nash confessed between £70,000 and £90,000 was owed to workmen and staff who furnished and worked for the nightspot which opened just before Christmas.

Mr Nash, based in Arundel, admitted that thousands of pounds worth of cheques had bounced. He said: "Joe is fronting the place for me. There have been cash flow problems and such like but there is no need for people to go on the roof and cut my wires -- that is trespass.

"This is a venture I sometimes regret ever starting. There have been a lot of ins and outs and Joe was happy to put his name to it. But in the end, whatever he or his relatives and friends may have said, this is my club. I own it and whoever is owed money will be paid. They have all done a good job.

"The problem has been that I have not been able to sell a property because my partner was involved in a road crash and is seriously ill. If I could sell it I would pay everyone.

"If they bring their cheques to me they will be redeemed. I have never had a venture like this before and I have had my fingers burned. Everyone will be paid, I promise."

World-wide entertainer Joe Longthorne has been declared bankrupt and has an agreement with the Official Receiver to pay back creditors.

In the bar that bears his name thousands were spent on opening night booze, including a non-stop champagne fountain. He is regularly seen in the club with his cousin Jon and his manager Jamie Moran.

One disillusioned worker said: "I was there in the early days and I was getting orders from Joe, Jamie and the rest of his entourage.

"It was only when I started asking for wages that I was pointed in different directions. I was referred to Joe, then to his manager Jamie and then to Mr Nash.

"As a result I have had four cheques from Nash bounce on me. One bouncy cheque is fine but for the fourth time the whole matter starts to tell me a different story.

"There are a lot of good tradesmen in this town owed money."

Joe, who lives on Queens Promenade, Blackpool, in a vast house rented from a local hotelier said as the venue opened: "This is true Las Vegas style. I feel like a kid with a new toy."

A spokesman for the entertainer said this week: "There have been problems and people may be confused about who owns what and runs what. But it is not Joe's company."