A MARKET revamp costing £400,000 has begun falling apart before it has even been officially opened.

But Dartmouth deputy Mayor Dave Cawley – one of the driving forces behind the market project assured residents: 'There will be teething problems because it has only just opened.'

The council-funded facelift, which has transformed the 182-year-old complex, took around eight months to complete and is due to be officially opened by Cllr Cawley today.

But on Monday one of the slabs on the steps into one of the new market shop units lifted and came away as a customer tried to get into the shop.

And on Tuesday customers in the new glass fronted community cafe found water being blown under the door and through the quarter inch gap between the doors as storms hit the town.

Johnny Chick, whose Rod O'Reely fishing tackle shop was where the slab lifted, said: 'Somebody trod on it and it flew off. I think it's pretty damn poor.'

Meanwhile, Mary Stone, the supervisor at the over-60s sessions at the cafe revealed water was coming in through its new glass doors.

'There seems to be some teething troubles there,' she said.

Within an hour of the slab problem being reported it had been fixed.

Cllr Cawley said the doors at the cafe would be 'sorted out'. He added: 'The door and rain ingress was raised with the architects three months ago and they said that if it did happen there was an easy solution.'

As far as the slab was concerned, he added: 'A bit of concrete will fix that.'

Meanwhile, town clerk Chris Horan said of the cafe: 'I believe there has been some egress of water.

'The architects have been informed and the contractor is aware of it.'

The grand opening of the market is due to take place today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. A celebration to mark the completion of the market, complete with a farmers' market and music, is due to go ahead tomorrow.

Cllr Cawley added: 'The market has been received exceptionally well. The people who were critical to start – the majority have all come around to say it's very nice and well done.'