London, March 16 : Heather Mills left a former fish cafe owner disappointed after she dipped her original offer of 255,000 pounds to 140,000 pounds, blaming the "current economic climate" that had slashed property prices.

The former better half of Sir Paul McCartney had offered to buy the Big Fish Cafe in Hove, East Sussex from Nick Short, but later revised her offer.

"Heather said she''d like to buy the place if it came on the market. Last July I decided to sell so I got in touch. I went to see her at her home and we made a verbal agreement for 255,000 pounds," the Mirror quoted Nick as saying.

"That was later agreed in writing. The arrangement changed in November. I got a letter from her lawyer saying the price had dropped to 140,000 pounds.

"It blamed the credit crunch and the ''current economic climate''. Her lawyer said there were other issues such as the cost of the ground rent going up and the need to renovate the windows. I was shocked, absolutely gutted.

"I''d put off other buyers who were offering the full price thinking I had a deal with Heather. There was nowhere else I could go," he added.

The ex model recently took over the proprietorship, and decided to drop fish and all other animal products from the menu.

Staff at the cafe have also been given the pink slip, and told not to return after the renovation is over.

Heather''s spokesman said: "Heather is very excited to have taken over the cafe. She has been a local resident for nearly ten years and is looking forward to giving the cafe a much-needed renovation. Heather has wanted to buy the cafe for many years to create a fun place serving greattasting healthy plant-based foods for kids, their families and the locals." (ANI)