Steyning business owner '˜thankful' for support after flash floods

Kim Cook, the owner of The Steyning Tearooms, in Steyning High Street, described Monday’s rain as being ‘like a tidal wave’ coming through the back door of her shop and all the way into the tea rooms.

The water caused damage to the inside of her shop but thanks, in no small part, to her staff members and customers, Kim was able to reopen her business as usual the following day.

She said: “The building is 500 years old and the drains couldn’t cope with the amount of rain.

“There is a manhole cover in the pavement that also flooded the basement so I need to get the council to fix that.

“Customers were helping bail out water with buckets and mops and all the staff stayed here until late last night getting rid of the water and cleaning up mud so that we could open today. A customer loaned us a dehumidifier so that we could get the floors dry.”

The clean up operation continued into Tuesday as Kim battled to keep her business open but she said she would not have been able to do so without the support she received from customers and staff alike.

She added: “(I am) incredibly thankful. We would not have been able to open today if it wasn’t for them (her staff members).

“And staff came in early today as well to get finished.

“We are very lucky to have such amazing staff and customers.”

Monday afternoon’s flash floods caused widespread problems across the district as the bank holiday weekend drew to a close.

Pictures and videos were shared on social media showing flooding in a number of roads in Steyning, Upper Beeding, Bramber and neighbouring areas.

However, in the space of two to three hours, the water had drained away in a number of roads and much of the district had returned to normal as temperatures remained around the low 20s.

Were you affected by Monday afternoon’s flash floods? Let us know by emailing [email protected] or by calling 01903 282366.