A man said he fears he will have to close his restaurant for months after it was damaged by a flood.
Emergency services and United Utilities were called to Southport Road in Scarisbrick today after a water main burst at around 6am. This caused a huge flood which impacted a number of homes and local restaurant Indian restaurant Nellie.
Owner Salique Meah, also known Sal, said he was shocked to receive a phone call early in the morning from one of his staff members.
READ MORE: Mum woken by shouting outside before realising home had flooded
Speaking to the ECHO, he said: "I got a call at around 7.45am to a member of staff and I was fast asleep when I got the call. The staff member told me that it was all flooded.
"I was waking from a deep sleep when I got the call and my mind was not working. They told me they couldn't even get downstairs."
The 35-year-old said parts of his restaurant was "underwater" and the water reached "hip-level" in the basement. Sal added: "The bar area, which is a massive area, is just above knee-level of water."
Sal, who has owned Nellie for six years, said he fears he will have to close "for months" following the flood. He said insurance will cover costs of the damage but the 35-year-old, who lives in Oldham, worries he will lose customers if he has to close the restaurant's doors for a long period of time.
He told the ECHO: "This is my livelihood and my commitment and my love for this. I drive a minimum of three hours a day on the road [to get here]. My customers are the most important to me because of how kind they are."
Sal added how his local customers supported the him and the restaurant throughout lockdown and worries how the flood will impact his business.
Sal added: "I don't know whether to cry, emotionally I don't know what to do. If we are going to be closed customers might go elsewhere and are they going to come back?
"If that happens I am going to have to restart all over again [...] there's no one to blame for this but that is the depth of the whole scenario."
The 35-year-old asked for his customers to follow the restaurant's social media pages for updates on when they will be able to reopen. The Facebook page can be found here.
A spokesperson for United Utilities said the initial water burst did cause flooding and company's insurance team will contact those impacted.
They said: “Our teams are on site on Southport Road in Scarisbrick dealing with a burst water main. Unfortunately the initial burst this morning led to some localised flooding, and our insurance team are in contact with the owners of the affected properties to arrange clean up and offer further assistance.
“We apologise for any localised disruption to water supplies or traffic while our engineers carry out the repair.”
A spokesperson for Lancashire Fire and Rescue said: "At 8:31am on June 26, two fire engines from Ormskirk attended a flooding incident on Southport Road in Scarisbrick. The flooding was the result of a burst water main and affected four properties and a roadway.
"Firefighters used a poly spill boom to divert the water away from the properties, along with using a light portable pump and a hose ejector. Crews were at the scene for approximately four hours."
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