As good a training ground as the Western Morning News was, and as beautiful as the Cornish coastline could be, my two years as a trainee reporter in the Westcountry from 2001 to 2003 were mostly miserable. One of the few bright patches was my friend Ben, now a reporter at the Dorset Echo, who has set the good burghers of Weymouth atwitter with this tale of a hotel owner who could give Basil Fawlty a run for his money:

One pensioner was told by the owner to wash in the sea after she complained about having no hot water in her room

Another says she was informed she could not have her grapefruit and porridge in separate bowls because ‘there was not enough room on the table

Evening entertainment involved the owner shouting risqué answers to quiz questions

Owners told guests they could ‘pack their bags and go’ if they didn’t like it and even pointed out there was a railway station not far away.

Ben’s Dorset Echo piece is here. A 90-second example of Fawlty customer care follows.