Bourne End: The Bounty pub forced to close after flooding

Damian Wright, 51, is not just the manager of The Bounty pub in Cockmarsh, Bourne End, but also lives in the Thames-side building alongside his extended family. 

It was less than ideal in more ways than one, then, when the characterful venue was forced to close after it fell victim to flooding last week, brought on by rising water levels in the wake of Storm Henk.

Luckily, it's standard practice for The Bounty to only open on weekends throughout winter, when footfall is at a steady low, and last week's flooding was largely contained to the pub's toilets and kitchen facilities - small mercies for which Damian is diplomatically grateful.

He doesn't shy away, however, from describing the recent surge as the worst he has seen the pub weather in his lifetime.

"The water came into my flat this year, which it has never done before. We'll have to put a new floor down in the toilets and the flood water is still rattling through even now - there was nothing anyone could do."

He believes the impact of last week's flooding to be greater than that of its predecessor in 2014 but adds that the water levels on the Thames stayed high for a much longer period when the area dealt with similar issues a decade ago.

READ MORE: Bucks resident slams council over roundabout ‘flooded for weeks’

"It's the nature of being where we are - being a pub next to the river makes us a lot of money in the summer but it does also put us at a greater flood risk.

"We're luckier than others who have had water come all the way up into their homes. If the whole building had flooded, it could have been a nightmare."

Damian and his parents, who are dual landlords of The Bounty, are hoping to reopen the pub's doors as soon as this weekend if all goes well, and the 51-year-old said he and his family are thankful for the support they have received from the Bourne End community since last week's closure. 

"As soon as the river goes down beyond the Thames Path, we'll be able to start cleaning up, and it has come down as much as eight inches in the past few days.

"Quite a few locals have been in contact with Mum, Dad and myself, which has been nice. We've even had people saying we can stay around their houses."