Nottinghamshire: Flooded pub reopens 'thanks to community help'

Paul Birks said friends and neighbours "mopped, hosed and jet washed"

A landlord who managed to open his village pub six days after being flooded has thanked the community.

The Brownlow Arms in High Marnham, Nottinghamshire, was swamped on 7 January when the nearby River Trent rose after Storm Henk.

Landlord Paul Birks said there was three feet of water in one of the bars and he estimated damage and losses at about £20,000.

He fears there are "sleepless nights" ahead as he opens up about the future.

Friends and neighbours came together to help clean the pub

Mr Birks, who had run the pub for two years, said they had sandbagged entrances but the water was the highest it had been since 1977.

"I was just devastated really," he said. "I just thought, 'I can't stop this, I've just got to lift everything up and try and move as much stuff as quickly as possible'.

"It flooded the top bar, the kitchen area and the bottom bar as well, where it was about three feet deep."

But in the aftermath, the help offered has helped him turn things around.

When he reopened the pub's doors on Saturday, Mr Birks said: "It feels like we have had no sleep for six days.

"We pumped the water out and that left silt everywhere, but we've had great support from the community, from neighbours and friends who have mopped, hosed and jet washed the best they can.

"It's fantastic to reopen so soon, as well as the earnings, we are an important part of the community."

Fields along the A46 in Newark-on-Trent under water after flooding in the area

While committed to the pub, Mr Birks admitted he was worried about the future, adding: "It would be great to have a little more help, for someone to tell us when the river levels are rising, to come and knock on doors. That would help us prepare for it."

Customer Jarrod Barton told the BBC: "It's unbelievable really.

"This pub, to this local area, is really important and for the people to work like they have done is great.

"We were down last Saturday and we saw the devastation and the flooding last week so to reopen a week after is ridiculous."