Derby's Museum of Making reopens after three-month flood closure

Visitors return to the restored museum for a thank you day

A riverside museum has reopened for the first time since it was severely damaged by Storm Babet flooding in October.

Derby's Museum of Making was deluged when the River Derwent's water level rose to a record 3.58m (11.8ft).

Staff have been cleaning up the museum and making repairs since.

The museum officially reopens on Friday but hundreds of people attended a "thank you" day earlier to recognise the clean up effort.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said museum bosses wanted to show their gratitude for the public support they received since the closure.

More than £13,000 was raised from public donations to help the museum reopen.

The inside of the museum became deluged in 2.3ft (70cm) of flood water

Repair works included a deep clean of the entire ground floor, and restoring the flooded kitchen and workshops.

Tony Butler, executive director of Derby Museums said: "It's brilliant to be back open. It's wonderful to see so many familiar faces come to the doors.

"We've been closed for a few months and it's such a relief to welcome back our visitors.

"We had about 70cm (27.5in) of water in the building. It was heartbreaking.

"The speed of inundation and the force of it knocked lots of stuff over.

"Because it was river water it deposited a lot of silt in the building. It took a long time for the smell to go."

The total cost of the repairs has not yet been disclosed but Mr Butler said a "six figure" sum had been mostly paid by the building's insurance cover.