Flood-affected pub 'celebrates' unhappy milestone

Pub staff have been counting how long the road has been closed

The owner of a Lincolnshire pub on a road which has been flooded for 100 days has described the situation as "a joke".

The Tyrwhitt Arms is on Ferry Road in Fiskerton which has been closed to the west of the pub since December after a series of storms, although customers have still been able to access the pub from the east.

Owner Rob Hardman, 50, said he was "devastated" with the situation, but had organised a coffee morning to mark the milestone.

The Environment Agency said it is investigating a different approach to help the area recover from flooding.

Rob Hardman said the flooded road had become "our new normal"

According to Mr Hardman, a section of Ferry Road, west of the pub, was first closed on 21 October.

"It was briefly opened for Christmas but was closed again in early January," he said.

“We have got to the point where it has become a joke."

Staff at the pub, on the banks of the Barlings Eau, organised a coffee morning for the local community to "celebrate" the 100 days the business had been affected by the closure.

They said all proceeds from the event would go to Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance.

Mr Hardman said he wanted "to make something good out of a bad situation."

'A horrible winter'

Mr Hardman lives next to his pub.

He recalled how he used to sit on his balcony and look out over the fields each morning.

“But now, I look out and stare at the sea,” he said.

Mr Hardman said he hoped the water would be drained soon

Although Mr Harman said it had been "a horrible winter", he does believe there is an end in sight.

“We have heard that the river bank will be fixed by the end of the week and then the water will be drained", he said.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel.”

The Environment Agency said the repairs would be completed within the next two weeks.

In a statement, the agency said: "We are looking at the possibility of taking a different approach to help the area recover from flooding and the impacts of climate change.

"In February we began discussions with farmers, landowners and land agents to understand what might be possible."

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