Dozens of families have had their Christmas Day lunches cancelled after flooding shut a Mirfield pub.

Around 140 people were booked for Christmas Day at the Ship Inn in Steanard Lane.

Staff at the pub and restaurant, part of Greene King’s Hungry Horse chain, have been contacting customers to break the bad news.

The pub was left under a foot-and-a-half of water on Saturday night after the nearby River Calder burst its banks.

Ship Inn floods: the aftermath

Water gushed across the road and into the car park, engulfing the pub.

It is understood the pub received a warning from the Environment Agency and customers were told to leave around 5pm. Staff had gone by 6pm and the floodwater hit later that night.

Steanard Lane is notorious for flooding and the pub has been hit in previous years.

Though all floodwater had disappeared by Sunday morning, the pub has been left devastated and will be closed for up to eight weeks.

While Christmas Day lunch plans will have to be changed at the last minute by many families, the 20 or so staff have been offered work at other Greene King pubs or told to take outstanding holiday over the festive period.

The Ship Inn, Shepley Bridge, Mirfield, closed after the river Calder breaks its banks. Kitchen manager Carl Phillips points out the level of the flood water.

Nicki Bush, manager at the Ship, said: “It is very frustrating when something completely beyond our control like this happens so close to Christmas.

“We are doing everything we can to help our customers re-arrange their reservations and will refund any deposits for bookings that we can no longer accommodate.

“The plan is to re-open within two months although hopefully it will be sooner than that, once the pub has been completely cleaned and put back to normal.

“We are very sorry for anyone affected by the Ship’s closure and hope to welcome back customers in the New Year.”

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Another Mirfield pub and restaurant, the Pear Tree in Huddersfield Road, escaped damage from rising river levels though the lower part of the riverside beer garden was underwater.

In pictures: Saturday's floods

The football fields at nearby Battyeford Sporting Club were also under several feet of water and also affected were the Lowlands allotments in Station Road.

The allotments are always vulnerable and in January 2008 gardener Norman Brown harvested something unexpected after the floods – an 11lb pike!

Elsewhere, there were reports of flooding in parts of Brighouse and firefighters were called to help threatened homes in Middlemost Close, Birkby, after a pond overflowed.