Kathryn Cross The owner of an aquatic and pet centre which has gone into voluntary liquidation has vowed to work seven days a week to rebuild the business.David MacPherson set up Bawdeswell Aquatic & Pets Ltd in December 2005 at the back of the Bawdeswell Garden Centre, near Dereham.

Kathryn Cross

The owner of an aquatic and pet centre which has gone into voluntary liquidation has vowed to work seven days a week to rebuild the business.

David MacPherson set up Bawdeswell Aquatic & Pets Ltd in December 2005 at the back of the Bawdeswell Garden Centre.

But he said that although the credit crunch has forced him to go into liquidation he had restructured the business and would continue to trade on the same site having set up a new company Diamondreams.co.uk Ltd.

“The trading name will be Bawdeswell Aquatic & Pets so we are not shutting down, we are cutting the cloth to suit us,” he said.

“We will continue to be a reputable aquatic business and I am so determined that we will recover and prosper and I am building it up again for a better future.

“I had three staff but now it is just me so there are no days off. The shop was very successful but unfortunately the credit crunch has squeezed us and put us in a position where we could no longer trade as we were.”

Mr MacPherson, is well known for his unusual designs for aquariums including one inside a grand piano and he now has one made from an art deco carved glass head.

“My inventions and designs are still very strong,” he said. “But I am so desperate for an investor to take it forward. I have all the application forms for Dragons Den but I haven't filled them in yet. I feel like a racing driver waiting for someone to put the fuel in the car so he can go on and win the race.”

He has also worked for the royal family including the Duke and Duchess of York, supplying and servicing all the fish tanks at their Sunningdale home, as well as Ringo Starr and Bruce Forsyth.

He said: “I love my aquatic shop and I can't let it go because my customers are very important to me. I am determined never to give up. Two weeks ago I was involved in a hit and run accident in London and was knocked off my motorbike. The paramedics wanted to take me to hospital but I said I had to get back to work. I got home at 2am and was up at 7am the next morning, limping in to open to shop by 8.30am.”