Wet your whistle: Hardy Yorkshire drinkers defy rising floodwaters to enjoy pint

Two barmy Brits refused to let the stormy weather battering the north of England stop them from enjoying a civilized pint of beer at their usual haunt… even if it meant sitting waist deep in rising floodwaters.

The beer garden, which sits a few meters from the scenic River Aire in the South Yorkshire city of Leeds, was inundated when heavy rain hit the area on Sunday. 

The rain fell so fast there wasn’t even time to protect the garden from the rapidly rising river. When the banks burst, the garden was completely submerged.

Rather than sit in the warm and dry of the Kirkstall Bridge Inn, however, the defiant manager and pub owner decided to brave the muddy waters together and enjoy their drinks outside.

Manager John Kelly told the BBC of his failed efforts to stop the rising waters.

“I stood and shouted at the water but it didn’t seem to do much,” he said.

Unable to turn the tide and accepting their fate, Kelly and pub owner Steve Holt embraced their new water feature. They poured themselves a pint and settled down at a table completely submerged by the water.

“It was remarkably cold. The first 15 minutes were a little bit uncomfortable but once we settled down it was surprisingly therapeutic, to sit not just by the river but in the river,” Kelly said.