Flood at The Fountain pub in Seabrook
A landlord has spoken of the devastation at his Hythe
pub after severe flooding meant fire crews had to ferry guests
to safety.
Firefighters and police were called to The Fountain pub in
Seabrook Road, last night at about 9pm after heavy rainfall
resulted in waist deep flooding in some areas of both Horn Street
and Seabrook Road.
About a dozen guests at the pub had to be ferried to safety by
the Water Safety Unit from Folkestone fire station using an
inflatable boat.
Firefighters dealt with the flooding, which was result of
several blocked drains in the road, by using two pumping appliances
to suck the water up, which they then deposited in the Royal
Military Canal.
Folkestone watch manager Mick Dennis, from Folkestone, said: "It
wasn't the level of water that was the problem, it was the speed of
which the water was moving. It was flowing very quickly, and at the
depth you can't see what is being carried along under the water.
This can be very dangerous. Our Water Safety Unit was on hand to
keep the crew safe and to ferry people to safety."
Crews from both Ashford and Hythe were also on standby.
The basement of the pub and the ground floor were both severely
damaged as a result of the flooding.
Landlord Clinton Parker said: "Water is still flowing past the
pub. We have no electricity and some stock has been ruined. At
5.30pm last night it was fine, by 6pm is was flooded.
"It was becoming too dangerous to drive along because cars were
loosing control. It is a nightmare, and this is the worse weekend
for it to happen, when we were fully booked for Mother's Day. It's
devastating really."
Seabrook Road and Horn Street were still closed on
Saturday morning while the Environmental Agency worked to
make the road safe.
09/03/13
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