The stereotype is of migrant workers filling jobs in hotels and restaurants. But Poles with business acumen are now involved in launching businesses.

Both Eastbourne residents and business-minded incomers have spotted market opportunities in a town where the influx of Polish people looks set to continue.

Convenience stores, a delicatessen, a cafe serving homecooked and traditional Polish food are now joined by a Polish pub. The Black Sheep in Bourne Street has been renamed The Polish Black Sheep.

The Ezee Shop in Cavendish Place was the first of three businesses from Ricky Burgess - an Englishman who has never been to Poland.

He met his Polish girlfriend, Karolina Grenda, in Eastbourne five years ago and together they noticed a gap in the market.

He said, "We opened a shop in Cavendish Place earlier this year selling Polish food and drink. As our first shop it was an experiment on a small scale. We saw how well that worked so opened a second on Seaside Road.

"There are so many Polish people in Eastbourne and as far as we can see that is just going to keep going up and up and up.

"Most of them live in bedsits and accommodation around the Seaside end of town and they need somewhere to get together."

Now they plan to open their own Polish pub and club."

The couple might then expand further, with a business in Hastings, although the Polish community there is not thought to be as large as in Eastbourne.

A definitive estimate of the size of the community does not exist, but national figures state 264,560 work applications from Polish people were approved by the government between May 2004 and June 2006.

The Ezee Shop owners' ideas are fuelled by the chatter of customers in their shops.

Mr Burgess said, "We get an awful lot of customers coming in and chatting and we have made that part of our business. We have tables and chairs and it's a little meeting place in itself."

An interest in Polish food started as a trend and is now becoming more mainstream - Mr Burgess said competition could be a problem but only if they forget their market.

He said, "There are a lot of Eastern European shops opening up but not so many that are just for Polish goods.

"Now virtually every supermarket sells Polish food and drink and that's a bit of a worry but we know what the Polish are like.

"They come here to work hard and save their money so we will keep the prices down for them."

Polish beer is a big draw at the Ezee Shop and Ezee Shop Extra.
At the Polish Delicatessen in Seaside Road, Kate Kubaka says it is the traditional sausage her customers come for, as well as a well-used community notice board and some hard-to-find Polish sweets.

Further along the road, Eliza Davies is planning a trip back to Poland to stock up on the authentic ceramics she sells alongside homecooked food and drink at Little Polka Cafe.

She has been overwhelmed by the interest of locals and the Polish community.

Mrs Davies said, "I'm surprised with the amount of business I'm having. It's much better than I imagined, especially from the British community.
"I'm so thankful to Eastbournians. They are coming here all the time, eating my food, telling their friends.

"There are people coming from all over the place just to see us. From Ashford, Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Rye.

"It's because we are the only one on the south coast doing this with home cooked Polish food."

Last month a gathering for Polish settlers from all over the country was held at the cafe.

Traditional food is cooked by Polish staff and in just four months since it opened, the cafe has earned a reputation for holding traditional Polish functions including weddings and christenings. Two parties for British groups are now in preparation.

Little Polka stands out as a cosy enclave on Seaside Road. As one of the poorer residential areas of Eastbourne, Eliza said her cafe needs to be there as it is where Polish workers can afford to live.

But she has been shocked by the level of crime and anti social behaviour in the area.

"I haven't seen so much crime in all my life as I have in the last four months. The area is just full of crime and drug addicts.

"The Poles are here because they can't afford better places, this is where it is cheap enough for them. So we have to be here too."