A RESTAURANTEUR who lost £1m after investing in a former steelworks site has vowed to repay his customers who paid deposits for Christmas meals.

Gianfranco Fanelli, 54, said the closure of Giovanni’s restaurant in Consett, County Durham, has left him "penniless and heartbroken".

But the Italian businessman has pledged to get a job and repay the 250 people who left deposits for  the Berry Edge eatery.

He said: “I am penniless. I will not run away though. I will call them up and pay them back.”

Giovanni’s, once called Soprano’s, opened before the  recession took hold in 2007.

Mr Fanelli said he invested in Consett on the strength of promises from the now defunct Derwentside District Council, which said the site would be home to a sports village, major supermarkets and become a vibrant business district.

But the planned developments failed to materialise and the restaurant lost money as a result.

It closed last Tuesday after Mr Fanelli was visited by bailiffs.

“I was made a lot of promises but I have lost everything," he added. "I now have nothing. It is now in the hands of the receivers.”