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Three Pigeons team effort to reopen after water main burst flooding
07/09/2021
Staff were determined to be back open in time for evening service
The owner of the Three Pigeons Pub has told Banbury FM the situation they were faced with after water from a burst main flooded their pub on Saturday morning. Tina Laird described how they found the restaurant and courtyard under water and covered in muck.
The pub had to cancel all their lunchtime bookings and remained closed whilst the clean-up operation took place.
Parts of Banbury woke up to low or no water pressure on Saturday morning after the main burst during the early hours. Engineers from Thames Water were on scene trying to fix the problem from around 6am.
Tina described the situation they discovered at the Three Pigeons. She said: “We found the restaurant and courtyard to be flooded and covered in muck on Saturday morning. We had to close for lunch and cancel all our bookings.
“We spoke to Thames Water who said that they would send a team to help clear out the water but they never came.”
The Three Pigeons team decided to take matters into their own hands, with a focus on ensuring they could be back up and running later in the day.
Tina said: “We cleared and cleaned ourselves in the end because we were determined to open for the evening service.
“The team pulled together and we were ready by 4.30pm!”
Thames Water worked through the day to restore people’s water supplies. Whilst a more long-term repair is completed the northbound A361 on North Bar has remained closed. The affected pipe is 12 inches in diameter.
At the Three Pigeons there is a fear that they could face the same situation in the future. Tina said: “It is a concern that this will happen again as they had a burst pipe a few years ago and we arrived in the morning to find sandbags all the way down the street. This time no sandbags so the flooding is much worse.”
Thames Water say that after the Three Pigeons landlord spoke to their helpline over the weekend. It was confirmed that the customer did not want any visits over the weekend as they wished to continue trading.
A Thames Water spokesperson told Banbury FM: “We’re sorry to anyone affected by the burst on North Bar Street at the weekend and for any disruption while we repair the road. Our engineers arrived quickly at the site to fix the burst and bring customers back into supply.
“Our insurance team are calling affected properties to arrange appointments to assess any damage caused by the flooding.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam