Herefordshire pub benches wash up 50 miles away after flood

The bench will now be left as a place for volunteers to sit during beach clean-ups

A pair of pub garden benches have washed up on a beach almost 50 miles away, after being swept away by floodwater.

A total of 10 benches from Ye Old Ferrie Inn in Symonds Yat, Herefordshire, were lost during the floods at the end of October.

Two of them washed up on Tuesday in Portishead, Somerset.

Although one was damaged, the other is to become a spot for volunteers to sit during beach clean-ups.

The cellar at Ye Old Ferrie Inn was flooded at the end of October

Jamie Hicks, the landlord of Ye Old Ferrie Inn, said October's flooding had been the worst he had seen in nine years at the pub.

"The cellar was completely flooded, so it was chest deep in the cellar," he said.

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The benches were found by Ness Churn of Turn the Tide Portishead, a volunteer group that works to clean rubbish from the town's beaches, who shared pictures of the discovery on Facebook.

They were pointed out to Mr Hicks by a former customer who now lives in Portishead, and the landlord said they were definitely his benches, because of their turquoise colour and table numbers written in his handwriting.

The unusual colour of the benches has identified them as belonging to the Herefordshire pub

The surviving bench is to be left in place for volunteers, for now, but will eventually be moved out of the tide-line.

Ms Churn said: "I had coffee there with my brother last night as the sun went down.

"It has landed perfectly on the beach against the rock, you've got a view of Black Nore Lighthouse one way and the sunset, and the other way to Portishead lido and out across the water to Cardiff.

"Honestly it couldn't be in a better place, we love it."