It is a coffee and comic shop that certainly deserves to be bigger on the inside than on the outside.

Fans of Doctor Who have been materialising in ever increasing numbers in Lowestoft to visit Dawn of Time since it opened its doors last month.

From its Tardis-like entrance to a menacing dalek and a look-alike Doctor and some of his brave companions, the shop in the High Street is a science fiction Mecca dedicated to Doctor Who.

Its owner Jim Poole can often be seen in the coffee and comic shop dressed up as the Second Doctor, who was played by Patrick Troughton in the 1960s, and its manageress and Mr Poole's business partner Nikoya Sutton bears an uncanny resemblance to Amy Pond, who travelled with Matt Smith's Doctor in the Tardis.

And as Mr Poole's 17-year-old daughter Bea serves coffee she likes nothing better than to dress up as the seventh Doctor's companion Ace, who famously used a baseball bat to attack daleks.

The shops IT expert Henry Baker is also getting into the act as he resembles the fifth Doctor, who was played by Peter Davison,

As well as the eye-catching doubles, the store has two of the programme's most evil aliens, a dalek and a cyberman, and one of The Doctor's most faithful helpers, K-9, on display as well as a whole host of Doctor Who photographs and other paraphernalia.

And the shop could soon be getting the seal of approval from a 'real' Doctor as it is hoped that early next year John Hurt, who played The Doctor in last month's 50th anniversary special and lives near Cromer, will visit Dawn of Time as part of its plans to host regular events there.

Mr Poole, 45 and an IT engineer, said: 'We went to the Cromer Christmas lights in our Doctor Who gear and John said to us 'Ahh Whovians' and seemed very interested when we told him about the Dawn of Time.

'Word of mouth is spreading about Dawn of Time and we have had people up from London visiting. It is place where people can enjoy a nice coffee and tea and talk about their favourite programme as well if they are a fan.

'I think Doctor Who is such a special programme as it can take you anywhere, from the far future to the distant past.'

Plans are also afoot to have another of The Doctor's most scariest foes, a weeping angel, set up home in the shop, which will also have a creepy lounge installed.

And Dawn of Time, which also serves sandwiches, also has a growing collection of comics, including one of the first X-Men comics from 1963.

The last regeneration of the shop had been as a card shop and by a strange coincidence it had been one of the town's first milk bars in 1963 - the same year Doctor Who was first broadcast.

Dawn of Time is open Monday to Saturdays, with staff dressing up on Saturdays.

Doctor Who factfile

Doctor Who was first broadcast on November 23, 1963 with William Hartnell playing The Doctor.

He was followed by Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, John Hurt, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith.

On Christmas Day the next Doctor is set to be unveiled - Peter Capaldi, who starred in The Thick of it.

Famous foes of the Doctor include daleks, cybermen, sontarans, ice warriors, autons, the weeping angels and the silence.

The Doctor's arch villain is The Master, who was first played by Roger Delgado and was last portrayed by John Simm.

The Doctor has two hearts and comes from the planet Gallifrey.

Tardis stands for time and relative dimensions in space.