Pubs to the rescue as severe weather hits England
Licensees came to the rescue of residents when devastating floods hit northern England this week.
Mark and Karen Messenger of the Enterprise in Carlisle had one of the few pubs in the town that escaped serious damage when storms inflicted widespread destruction and even deaths in the area.
Thousands of residents were made temporarily homeless as the rain and lashing gales spilled sewage into houses and led to widespread power cuts. Positioned on a hill, the Enterprise became one of the few places for dry respite.
"The town has been in a terrible state," said Mr Messenger. "We know how lucky we are to have escaped serious damage - there are plenty of miserable stories.
"Although there was a power cut we managed to bring in some Calor gas and got candles out so people could still come in and be dry and warm. We've also got free-flow pumps so the customers could have a pint of beer, most of them stayed late and ended up getting tipsy."
The Messengers have another pub close to the Enterprise called the Currock Inn, fortunately also positioned on a hill. It escaped damage, but flooded roads meant it was cut off during the first night of storms.
"We had a buffet planned for the Saturday night of the floods but that was cancelled," said Mr Messenger. "When we got in on the Sunday there were plenty of waifs and strays who wanted a drink and we ended up giving them all the food from the buffet for free."
Many others in the town were not so lucky and the cost of damage has been put at tens of millions of pounds.
The weather also claimed three lives, and extra police officers were drafted in to monitor any increase in crime due to the chaos caused by the downpours.
A number of pubs in the town centre were devastated by the floods including the Beehive where managers Michael and Christine Wheatley had to be evacuated.
"We never expected the storms to be so devastating - it's such a shame to see the pub flooded," said Michael.
"There has been a great community spirit in Carlisle and people have really rallied round to support us. We're hopeful that we will be back at the pub as soon as it's safe to do so."
