Sal Meah, owner of Nellie Indian Restaurant in Scarisbrick, has described his heartbreak after his venue was flooded for the second time in just over three years. He estimates the property will take around seven or eight months to repair, meaning he will miss out on the busiest time of the year.
Second flood in three years
The latest incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, August 25, when a nearby water main burst on Southport Road. Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) was called at around 3.50am and used pumps to move floodwater into a nearby canal to prevent further flooding.
This came just three years and two months after the restaurant was hit by flooding in a similar incident in June 2023. Inside the restaurant, Sal estimates the water reached around two-and-a-half feet, while the cellar was flooded to around four feet. Floodwater also damaged the car park, paving and beer garden.
Heartbreak and déjà vu
Sal said: "It's heartbreaking. It was like déjà vu. It's a copy and paste of the same scenario of what happened in 2023. All the inside is ruined. We don't know if there's anything that can be salvaged until everything gets stripped out."
Sal went through a lengthy process of drying out and rebuilding the restaurant following the 2023 flood and fears he could now face the same process all over again. He estimates the restaurant could be closed for between seven and eight months if the necessary work is carried out properly.
Financial concerns and community commitment
The prospect of a lengthy closure has raised concerns about the financial impact on the business, particularly with the crucial Christmas trading period approaching. Sal said: "Christmas is the busiest time for everybody. Every business, whether it's food chains or pubs, every sector is busy because everyone's spending money at Christmas. It's the time where everybody's going to be making money, but I'll be the one who is closed."
Sal said walking away from the Scarisbrick restaurant would be the easiest option financially, but his relationship with his customers and the local community means he cannot bring himself to leave. He said: "It's the cheapest option for me to do. But the people I've got around me, my customers, my local community, they're lovely. So I can't leave. I'm willing to face a bullet for them. [My staff and I] travel to Scarisbrick from Oldham every day, 365 days a year. I am not going there just for the fun of it. It's the people in the local community that makes me go there."
Calls for action and charity efforts
Sal now wants assurances from United Utilities about what will be done to prevent the restaurant and nearby properties from being flooded again. He believes further measures could be introduced to help divert floodwater away from the affected properties. He said: "United Utilities needs to do something, or even if it means them to get in touch with the council and start putting more drains on. I need them to sit down face to face and tell me exactly what they're going to do to stop this from happening again. I can't have them just fixing their pipe every time it bursts. I would even let them have a bit of my car park area, entrance of the car park, if they wanted to put in more metal grates."
Despite the uncertainty, Sal said he has made up his mind to continue. He said: "It's going to be very tough, but I've made my mind up. I'm going to carry on, but when I look at the financials and everything, I am weak on that one. I need support."
While dealing with the aftermath, Sal is also continuing with charity fundraising efforts that had already been organised before the incident. He is due to take part in an 89-mile charity bike ride on Sunday, August 30, travelling from sister restaurant Babar Elephant in Morecambe before finishing in Oldham. A charity night is also planned for September 18 at Nellie the Elephant in Much Hoole, raising money for Alder Hey Children's Hospital. Sal said: "I'm going to do what I said; I want to stick to it. Every single meal that's sold on that night is going towards the charity. We don't take anything out. The £40 per guest goes direct to charity."
A United Utilities spokesperson said: "Our team is onsite responding to a burst water main in Southport Road, Scarisbrick. Unfortunately, the incident has resulted in flooding to a small number of properties. We are contacting customers directly to offer advice and support and have mobilised specialist loss adjusters." A spokesperson for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said firefighters attended Southport Road at 3.50am on August 25 to support United Utilities with a burst main pipe which resulted in flooding.
