A couple made a snap decision to take over a quirky old shop in Rochester for their first business venture because it "felt like home".

Jamie and Lynne Ashman decided to open Food Glorious Food, selling Kent-grown fruit and vegetables and home-made snacks from the Grade II-listed High Street building which, 400 years ago, used to be a brothel.

But days after they moved into the shop, known as the wonky premises for its arched walls, things started to go weirdly topsy turvy.

Locals soon made them aware that the place was haunted and had, over the years, a high turnover of tenants, some of whom had been spooked out by the goings-on there.

The story goes that when it was a brothel one punter got a little too touchy with one of the prostitutes and as a punishment was slung into the cellar and had his finger tips chopped off.

Soon after Lynne, 50, started working in the kitchen her previously manicured and well-cared for fingers became swollen and cut and at one point she thought she had developed gangrene.

Jamie, 42, also noticed his digits had taken a turn for the worse.

And that was just the beginning of the eerie shenanigans after they took hold of the keys in March this year.

On other occasions, 15 jars of bottled apple juice came hurtling off the shelves, red peppers started flying across the shop, the electricity cuts on and off and the radio starts mysteriously playing classical music.

Jamie, a former boat skipper, said: "I have never believed in anything like this. I have always thought it was silly. But now I'm convinced this place is cursed.

"He was obviously not a nice guy and must have been very angry."

Lynne, who used to run her own cleaning company, added: "It has really freaked me out. I honestly think we are not alone here. There can be no explanation for what's been happening. I can feel a presence."

But the couple, who live in City Way, Rochester, are determined not to let the ghostly turn of events get the better of them and are even prepared to get the 500-year-old building exorcised.

They said one customer was inside when items started to go awry and said a prayer while another has burnt sage to rid it of its demons.

Jamie said: "We were walking down the High Street one snowy day in February and saw this place was up for rent. We both wanted a change, so thought why not? We have put a lot into this so it's make or break."

Both are keen cooks and lovers of fresh food and have researched local farmers and producers for their goods.

They will be selling street food, cream teas and hampers to take on picnics to the nearby Castle Gardens during the summer season.

Jamie is up at the crack of dawn getting fresh produce from Spitalfields Market in east London and Lynne is often creating her gourmet delights late into the evening.

They claim to be selling the biggest jacket potato in town which, they say, is on the menu because "it's quirky for a quirky place".

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