Brandon's Royal Oak pub closes after fifth flooding

A pub has closed for the "foreseeable future" after it flooded only hours after finishing a big clean-up.

The Royal Oak at Brandon, near Coventry, flooded on Saturday night, for the fifth time in four months.

The emergency services went to the bar and restaurant and deemed it unsafe because of the floodwater, staff said.

Assistant manager Jack Thompson said he was calling about 200 people to cancel their New Year's Eve bookings, adding that people had been understanding.

"We have a big task on our hands. But we will be taking it day by day and trying our best to get back up and running as soon as we can," the pub told customers on social media.

The flooding followed heavy rain and storms. By Sunday evening four flood warnings remained in place in Warwickshire, including for parts of the Rivers Swift and Leam.

Pub owner Khara Schrijvers said last week that water entered the premises in Station Road during lunch and some customers had had to leave their cars in the water instead of driving them away.

Mr Thompson said the latest flooding was even worse. "We had floodwater coming in the front door and the back door then rising up in the cellar to around 4ft (1.2m).

"We don't know what to do. So we're just basically waiting on council decisions, [trying to] understand how it has happened and how we can protect ourselves," he said.

He said there were some theories about why it was happening, including that nearby drains were inadequate for the circumstances.

The flooding happened after they "cleaned all day" on Thursday and Friday to reopen on Saturday.

"So we pretty much cleaned for two days to open for one day," said Mr Thompson.

He added they were considering getting professional cleaners and putting flood barriers at the entrances.

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