Flooded Tirley pub reopens after community clean-up

An 18th Century pub which was damaged by flooding has reopened.

The community in Tirley, near Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, rallied together to help clean up the Haw Bridge Inn after it was flooded by 2ft [0.6m] of water in January.

Owner Ellie Richardson said the damage had cost her between £17,000 and £25,000.

She said: "There will be a few who will be getting a free pint because they've helped me."

"It's taken a lot of heavy cleaning, washing of every glass, utensil, the fires have had to be cleaned out," she added.

When asked about how she had coped, Ms Richardson said: "Old age. It makes you recover."

The pub had only been open for six months when it was hit by flooding.

Ms Richardson said she and her late husband had spent years renovating the pub that she once frequented as a youngster.

"So we were going to open in June, my husband died in May and I made my mind up that I would open up in July. I've done that and I've reopened now after the floods and I will keep on doing it.

"Everywhere I look is my husband," she added.

Local resident Linda Davis said she was glad to see the pub open its doors once again.

"I think it's very important. We didn't have a pub to go to for four years when it closed. They just brightened up the place, to be honest. They brought the community together again," she added.

Resident Oli Fox said he was impressed to see the work which had gone into reopening the pub.

He said: "I can't believe it. I'm still struggling with my house so to come in here and not even see a drop of silt on the radiators - it's amazing."

While the pub has now reopened, Ms Richardson also hopes to have more flood defences put in.

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