Pubs hit by flash floods as storms lash UK
The storms have flooded homes and disrupted transport in the Black Country, London and Kent after 50mm of rain fell in a few hours.
Lisa Bishop, general manager of the Three Daws pub in Gravesend, Kent, had to close the premises as water breached the site’s flood defences, she told the BBC.
Defences breached
Bishop said this was the first time the defences had been breached since they were introduced a few years ago.
"They are just under 1m high but the water went over them. My cellar is still under water and I'm waiting for Southern Water to pump it out,” she said.
"At least 20 barrels of beer are bobbing about. I have had to rip my carpet out in the function room on the first floor."
Bishop said the water had caused thousands of pounds' worth of damage to the pub.
Free meal and drink
A pub in Aldridge, a borough of Walsall in the Black Country, offered a free meal and drink to people affected by the storms in their area. General manager of the Crown Carvery Mike Glover-Johnson said people who had been flooded or lost access to water or power would be welcome in his pub.
"We have had a few people coming in and we have set aside 40 meals, with free tea and coffee, for people coming in today and tomorrow,” Glover-Johnson told BirminghamLive.
"When the rain hit, we also helped a gentleman to get home because he was stranded. We had people coming in all day to use toilets and we were giving them free tea and coffee.”
The pub’s staff were determined to help others despite the site’s cellar being flooded.
"We were flooded ourselves. Our cellar was totally flooded so we haven't been able to put on a full service and have had to sell bottles. But we are a part of this community and we take that seriously," he said.
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