Mop up after heavy rain causes High Street flooding

Saracen's Head owner Miles Ellis said: "Within 20 minutes I was ankle deep in water"

The owner of a pub who spent £50,000 refurbishing it, said it was "all hands on deck" after it was hit by flooding.

Heavy rain caused Dunstable High Street to flood on Wednesday afternoon, and The Saracen's Head - due to reopen on Saturday - was badly affected.

Owner Miles Ellis said: "Within 20 minutes I was ankle deep in water."

He said everyone pitched in with brooms and he was still hoping to be able to reopen at the weekend.

"It was a long night last night, trying to get water out," said Mr Ellis.

"Ironically we were all systems go [for the opening] and within about 20 minutes it all changed quite rapidly - we had water coming in from every direction as you can imagine."

Photographs and videos posted on social media showed the extent of the flooding along the High Street and surrounding roads.

The landlords said the building was pre-16th Century and flooded due to overflowing pipes and tunnels inside

He said after work had been done to reduce flooding on the High Street "we were quite confident, but it all hit the front of the building and just poured in, and at some volume, within 20 minutes I was ankle deep in water".

He said because the pub was old and had drains in various places, the water was not just coming in through the front of the building.

"It was in the back office and you were just standing in sewage and all sorts of yuck," he said.

The High Street in Dunstable was flooded on Wednesday afternoon

Asked his reaction to the flooding so close to opening, he said: "It's laugh, then maybe cry and then it's right, OK, we've worked so, so hard to take a building that was in such a state and get it to something viable, and get it back for the town and put something there for the community.

"So it was all hands on deck, call the insurance company, call the contractors in, get everyone with a broom to get every bit of water out that we could."

He said he is still aiming for a "soft launch" on Saturday and a full launch the following weekend.

"We'll just throw whatever resource we have at it," he added.