A LEIGH man is full of pride after his “passion project” comic book store proved a smash hit in its first month since opening.

Paul Bender, 45, took the plunge and threw open the doors of Cursed Earth Comics, in London Road, last month.

Since then, countless shoppers have been into the shop and heaped praise on the businessman - who had zero experience in running a shop - which has left him feeling “overwhelmed”.

He said: “The first month of operation has been really encouraging. Everyone has been incredibly supportive.

“I have had lots of people coming in, and we have even been raising money for charities.

“One of my aims in creating this was to sell books at reasonable prices to get people reading, so it is absolutely fantastic to see kids from schools in the community coming in and using our little library.

“It is like a real community hub.”

Featured on the shelves include best-sellers, such as Marvel and DC, and lesser-known titles, including the science fiction 2000AD book.

Right from a young age, the 45-year-old fell in love with being immersed in the worlds of sci-fi, superheroes and fantasy, all through the power of words.

It was not until he and his wife Donna, 40, went on a year-long trip where the “change of life” decision sparked in Paul’s mind.

Previously working in Barbican, London, selling furniture, he had never run a business.

Paul added: “I was quite nervous about taking the risk because of not having experience in running a shop.

“Before it opened, I thought it was going to be absolutely diabolical, but it turns out I was completely wrong.

“I have been blown away with how much encouragement the people of Southend have shown me.

“So far, it has been incredibly successful, and I thank everyone in the community who has come in for their patronage.”

Cursed Earth Comics’ general business hours are 11am to 7pm on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 11am to 6pm on Wednesday and 11am to 5pm on Sunday.

To learn more information, head over to their Facebook and Instagram pages.