Popular Knaresborough cafe forced to close over Storm Ciara floods

Video shows dramatic day for Pateley Bridge - Emergency services praised for Storm Ciara heroism

Justine Connolly, one of the owners, said that the business had been forced to remain closed today as water from the river filled the kitchen overnight, despite having flood doors and defences in place as soon as the flood warnings were issued.

It comes after the Environment Agency warned that 'immediate action' was required in some areas of Knaresborough yesterday as the authority announced that flooding was expected due to the severity of Storm Ciara.

Justine said that the Marigold team had been up from the early hours of this morning getting rid of the excess water and cleaning the furnishings and were gutted at losing a day of business.

She said: "We are currently in the middle of an epic clear up mission, which has meant we've had to remain closed today.

"We've been here since very early this morning and thankfully are almost finished but it has been a huge task.

See in pictures how Storm Ciara has devastated Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge and Masham

"Monday is normally a busy day for us, so it's gutting to have to close, but the damage could be worse so we have to be thankful for that."

The cafe has been closed since yesterday lunchtime, when rising water was becoming a cause for concern.

Justine added: "As soon as we saw the water creeping towards the courtyard, we knew we were in trouble. It was tough to lose another few hours of business but we had no control over the situation. We put the flood defences in place and just hoped for the best, but the water still managed to get into the kitchen."

Staff have spent the day scrubbing the kitchen floor and deep cleaning all the furniture, as Justine said the water left the cafe looking like "a beach" with dirty sand on the floor.

The electrics had also gone off but are now back up and running.

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The cafe is hoping to be back open as normal tomorrow.