Pubs braced for flood devastation
Licensees are bracing themselves for a repeat of the floods that devastated some parts of the country last summer.
Some pubs are only a foot away from being flooded - and are still clearing up from the worst natural disaster to hit Britain in 60 years.
Steve Brittain, of the privately owned Fish & Anchor in Offenham, Worcestershire said his business was perilously close to being ruined again: "It's about a foot across the top of the wall - we're on flood red alert.
I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like if we flooded againGerry BoazmanWhite Bear, Tewkesbury
"It hasn't breached the pub yet but any more water and we're in serious trouble.
"The river's looking very dramatic and the emergency services are on stand by. We've still got the builders in and we're set to be fully up and running [from the summer floods] in early February.
"At least if it does flood the builders will already be on site."
He was deeply critical of the way his local council had used emergency money from the Government.
He said: "The local councils [although they've been given lots of money] have done absolutely nothing to defend this area over the last nine months.
"If we do flood again we'll certainly consider a claim against the council.
"We know the water levels are rising in this country and absolutely nothing has been done to dredge rivers, build dikes or put up flood barriers in this area. It's very sad."
Grim outlook
Licensee Gerry Boazman became a flood celebrity last summer when he refused to be air lifted from the White Bear pub in Tewkesbury, preferring instead to take his chances on the roof for three days to take care of his arthritic border collie dog.
His free-of-tie pub reopened on the 1st of December - five months after four feet of water ripped through his pub with enough force to push a full bottle fridge through a locked door.
He said: "It's looking pretty grim. We've spent £300,000 refitting the site - I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like if we flooded again.
"The pub's garden has already flooded and it will only take another foot of water for the pub to be breached. We've got sand bags up but that's pretty much all we can do."
Is your pub at risk of flooding?
Contact our flood reporter Joe Lutrario on 01293 610 234 or email Joe.Lutrario@william-reed.co.uk or hit Post Comment below.
