Wallingford: Storm causes extensive damage to businesses

Flash flooding caused businesses to close, including Waitrose on St Martin's Street and The Dolphin pub on St Mary's Street.

A yellow warning for thunderstorms covering the majority of England and Wales was in place until midnight on Thursday.

Emma Cox, manager of The Dolphin in Wallingford, said she has "never seen anything like it".

Speaking to the Oxford Mail the day after the storm on Friday (August 2), Ms Cox said: "It's lucky nobody got seriously hurt yesterday."

Ms Cox said the storm lasted for no longer than 20 minutes, but this was enough to cause extensive damage.

READ MORE: Wallingford: Footpath blocked by fallen tree following storm

"It just came all the way through the building, it affected our private accommodation... it came through our ceilings," she said. 

Towels used to catch the water at The Dolphin (Image: Contributed)

"It's just insane - we used everything we could to try and pick up the water."

Half of the pub remains closed and Ms Cox said she does not know when the main bar will reopen, but she is hoping it won't be longer than a month. 

Nearby, the Cross Keys on High Street was also impacted by the storm.

Landlord pf the pub, Dave Howse said in "proper English spirit" him and his team carried on serving whilst cleaning the water up.

Dave Howse, landlord of the Cross Keys pub in Wallingford (Image: Contributed)

He said his pub experienced over a foot of water, but added that flooding is a regular occurrence for his pub, so they were prepared.

He said it took between three and four hours to clean up.

Flooding at the Cross Keys (Image: Contributed)

Steve Holder, councillor for Wallingford Town Council and deputy mayor, described the storm as "unique", adding: "I've not experienced anything quite stormy like that.

"It does seem the town got hit by the torrential rain and the drains couldn't cope with it."

The storm also impacted wildlife, with fallen trees blocking roads and paths. 

A fallen tree blocking Thames Path (Image: Chris Sharp)

Craig Simpson helped a man trying to remove a large branch blocking a road in Wallingford. 

The trio who cleared the branch from the road (Image: Contributed)

He told the Oxford Mail: "Gary works for me and we had just finished - thankfully it’s a physical job that we do.

"I was giving him a lift home, as we came round the blind bend on castle street we were greeted by a mass of water covering three quarters of the road and part of a tree (large branches) blocking a good half of the road.

"We saw this guy on his own, so we immediately pulled over, hazard lights on, he said he just couldn’t move any of it, so we all got to work clearing it.

READ MORE: Waitrose in Wallingford reopens following severe flooding

"Thankfully Gary is the founder and chairman of the Wallingford triathlete club, so we’re both physically fit and with the three of us we managed to clear the road, we had to snap branches off to be able to move the larger pieces on to the verge.

"Our shoes and clothes we drenched once we’d finished - it certainly felt great once it was done."

In contrast to the storm the previous day, on Friday (August 2) temperatures in Wallingford reached 27C with clear, sunny skies, according to the Met Office.