Pub loses out on £4k after New Year's Eve flooding

The Rose in Stapleford, Cambridgeshire, flooded on Christmas day and overnight on Boxing day. Staff worked hard to get all the water out and managed to keep the pub open.

However, the worst of the flooding came on New Year’s Eve when the pub saw 10 inches of water and had to close.

Licensee Karen Beer said: “We just had to close. We had 70 diners booked in and tickets for a further 30 people in the bar. We had a disco booked too. We would have made £4,000 on New Year’s Eve alone.

“We are insured but the issue is that we are opening and closing so much that our customers don’t know what’s going on. You become unreliable, so customers may not want to re-book over Christmas again.

“I’m also worried that we may not be able to get insured again, premiums can rise a lot.”

A spokesperson for Anglian Water apologised for the flooding. A statement said: “This is all linked to the recent terrible weather, and the fact that, unusually, two of our pumps in a nearby pumping station failed on two occasions. We attended as soon as we could to restart the pumps, but not before water had flooded into the pub.

“We will be keeping a close eye on the pumping station over the next few days. We will also carry out a full investigation and do what we can to reduce the risk of this happening again. Early investigations suggest this failure is the result of fluctuations in the power supply to the pumping station causing the pumps to cut out.”

Meanwhile, staff at a pub in Gloucestershire had to ferry customers to and from their pub on Christmas Day after two feet of water surrounded the venue.

As the inside of the Fromebridge Mill in Whitminster remained dry, extensive flooding outside left the pub inaccessible for most cars. It was caused by nearby River Frome having burst its banks on Christmas Eve.

Manager Phil Hewitt called Old English Inns area manager Gary Robinson, who drove 100 miles in a hardy four-wheel drive vehicle. He helped Hewitt and assistant manager ferry the 120 diners to and from the pub, between their cars, parking on unaffected areas.

Hewitt said: “I woke up on Christmas morning, prepared and excited to serve Christmas dinner and was shocked by the floodwater that surrounded us.

“Our neighbours very kindly let us use a private road which provided back access to the pub through much less flooding – much safer although difficult to navigate on foot.”