BREAKFAST wars have broken out as two cafes and a chip shop in the same street fight for customers.

Buxton's Bakery, Friar Rugg's chip shop and takeaway, and Le Cafe coffee shop, all within a bread roll's throw of each other on Bridge Street, Darwen, are tempting customers with full English fry-ups at sizzling prices between £2 and £2.45.

But the rivals insist there's no animosity and the customers are winning.

At Buxton's Family Bakers and Coffee Shop, £2.35 buys bacon, sausage, egg, beans or tomatoes with toast and tea or coffee.

Connie Buxton, who owns the family business, said: "People make their own minds up where they go. We've been here for 17 years, and we've been serving breakfasts for 17 years.

"We have a non-smoking coffee shop so people who come in can eat home-made food in a non-smoking environment.

"If you want a good breakfast, you should come here."

Friar Rugg's chip shop and take away is next door to Buxton's and started serving full English breakfasts just last week. They offer two of everything plus tea or coffee for £2.

Manager Chris Rugg said: "Our breakfasts are going well so far, and they're very good value. It might look like there's a war going on but there's not, it's just a coincidence. "We used to do breakfasts eight years ago, but as I'm here all day I thought we'd start doing them again. What business there is is diluted between the three of us, but we're the cheapest and the best.

"We've got to build up regulars who would have been having breakfasts somewhere else, so we have got to pinch customers."

Le Cafe has only been trading in Bridge Street for the past six months, and serves an all-day breakfast of bacon, egg, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, and toast with tea or coffee for £2.45.

The proprietor, who did not want to be named, said: "We started serving a full breakfast a few weeks ago, and we were the first in the street to serve a full English breakfast.

"They say competition is healthy, and we're all just trying to make a living. I started serving breakfasts because customers were asking me to do it. All we can say is we're the best."

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