Small family toy shop takes on supermarket giant Tesco over cost of repairs to battered wall

The two defiant sisters and brother who run Great Eastern Toys and Models shop have blasted the massive superstore chain for refusing to pay the repair bill.

The struggling trio insist Tesco's huge delivery lorries keep crashing into their shop's car park wall while taking goods to its Express store next door.

Anne Martin, her brother Robert Martin and sister Helen Hockey say the trucks have smashed into the wall, which separates their car park and the supermarket's delivery area, three times in as many months.

Robert Hockey and Anne Martin beside the demolished wall

The outraged family have been left with a repair bill topping £5,000.

They say the monster wagons are too big for the space at the back of the store in Norwich.

Tesco has taken the blame for the latest incident, in which a 40ft articulated lorry smashed into the recently rebuilt wall.

But the superstore is refusing to pay for repairs following the two earlier crashes - arguing there were no witnesses.

"It's a health and safety issue," Anne Martin said.

"We were lucky we didn't have any cars in the car park at the time otherwise it could have been horrendous.

Tesco is refusing to pay for repairs following the two earlier crashes - arguing there were no witnesses

"We are only here 9am to 5pm while they are open from 6am to 11pm. Because of this, the first two times there were no witnesses so we had to pay for it.

"Fortunately, this last time there were witnesses."

She added: "It's an encroachment on our wall and we're starting to fear parking cars there now. If small children were there when it was backing down then it would be game over.

"We're just a small, family business who have been struggling here for 22 years. We're a little local shop struggling against a giant."

The bitter dispute has blown up as many of Norwich's smaller retailers battle to compete with multi-national chains such as Tesco.

More than 40 former out-of-town outlets have crashed due to the monopoly of large supermarkets, the increasing number of chain stores in the city centre and the credit crunch.

Great Eastern Toys and Models was set up in 1986 - selling traditional toys and collectables for both adults and children, such as model trains and Scalextric sets.

The two sisters and their brother took over the shop two years ago after their father, Robert John, tragically died of a heart attack.

Their mum Sue Hockey, who also works in the store, said: "We are struggling to make ends meet without have to pay out over £5,000 to have the wall repaired.

"The last time the builder was there fixing the wall from the time before when the lorry backed down and he had to jump for his life. Something really ought to be done."

A Tesco spokeswoman said: "We were aware of one incident and went straight over to them to apologise.

"Within an hour we had one of our maintenance guys on the scene and we have said we will have it repaired as soon as possible."

She added: "It was an accident. These things do happen and our driver was aware - he acted responsibly and apologised."