Snow leads to 'ultimate pub lock-in'
Customers and staff were last night spending their ninth evening snowed in at one of Britain's highest public houses.
8:00PM GMT 04 Dec 2010
The Lion Inn pub in Blakey Ridge, North Yorkshire, where seven people have been trapped for eight days following huge 16ft snow drifts
Two guests and five workers have been stuck at the Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge, Kirkbymoorside, North Yorks, since the area's first snowfall on Nov 26, in what is being called "the ultimate lock-in".
With snow drifts outside the pub up to 16 feet deep, vehicles have also been buried, meaning escape has proved impossible from the 16th-century freehouse, which at an elevation of 1,325ft advertises itself as the country's fourth-highest pub.
Katie Underwood, 18, who has been a waitress at the Lion Inn for four years, said: "The novelty is definitely starting to wear off."
Paul Crossland, the pub's co-owner, put a warning on the Lion Inn's website urging customers not to attempt to reach the building. Stranded workers managed to email photographs from inside the pub.
Mr Crossland has been unable to travel the short distance from his nearby home, and council snowploughs have repeatedly failed to reach the inn.
Spirits have remained high despite the sub-zero temperatures, largely because the seven trapped occupants are sharing the huge bar that would usually cater for 150 people a night.
Miss Underwood said: "Most of the windows in here are blocked up, but we've got a door open at the back to get some air when we need to.
"All of the snow had compacted together against the walls of the pub because it had drifted so much.
"The boys that are here have been skiing on trays down the massive slopes. Now they're all out trying to dig their cars out of the deep snow."
She added: "It's been absolutely freezing, but we've been lucky that it's a pub and B&B that we're trapped in.
"We've got plenty of coal for our fire which has been great, and there's rooms upstairs so we have somewhere to sleep, and plenty of food."
Chefs Danny Butterworth, 18, and Stuart Dalton, 25, and bar staff Jo Bell, 20, and Robert Sunley, 22, are snowed in at the Lion, along with a couple from Sheffield who were holidaying in the area.
The occupants were not expecting the thaw to have arrived by Saturday night - their ninth - and have passed the evenings playing board games.
Staff have also taken the time to do maintenance work and other odd jobs.
Miss Underwood said: "This has happened before and when we saw the weather, us workers did bring extra clothes and essentials just in case.
"We never imagined it would be for this long.
"The residents we have staying have taken it in good heart, considering they were only going to be staying for two nights.
"They are just eager to get home now - like all of us, they are starting to miss it."
Source; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weath ... ck-in.html
AND
New freeze will bring fresh chaos to Britain
5/12/2010
Drinkers at a remote country pub were trapped in the bar for EIGHT DAYS after 16ft snowdrifts cut them off from the outside world.
Snowploughs and rescuers made repeated attempts to get to the stranded regulars and staff – but had to turn back in ferocious blizzards.
Luckily the Lion Inn, perched high on the North York Moors, had stocked up on food and drink for Christmas parties – and two of those trapped were the pub’s chefs.
One, Daniel Butterworth, 17, told how his car vanished under 10ft of snow in the car park. He only found it when he dug down and spotted the aerial peeking out.
He said: “I’ve been cooking steak for everyone all week. It was the most popular meal and you need it in this weather. The snow was terrible. The winds blew it across, it covered everything.
“It’s been an interesting experience and there are far worse places to be trapped but we will all be glad to get out.”
Waitress Katie Underwood, 18, who went to do a shift at the pub on Blakey Ridge near Kirkbymoorside last Friday, said: “Thank God the chefs were trapped with us!
“We could see the lights of the snow plough in the distance trying to reach us and they kept getting closer but it was just too deep for them to get through.
“It’s been horrific but fortunately everyone got on. The good thing was there was plenty of food and drink in and we were able to sit round a roaring fire every night and have a bit of a laugh.
“But I really do want to get home now. Eight days is a long time no matter how much you love your job!”
A married couple from Sheffield who were the last guests to reach the pub on Monday were the first to get out after managing to dig their car free yesterday.
Others trapped were barmen Rob Stanley, 22, and Joe Bell, 20, as well as the pub chef Stuart Dowson. They were all hoping to leave yesterday too amid a slight easing in the weather.
Even the pub’s co-owner Paul Crossland, who lives nearby, was unable to reach the inn.
He said: “We thought last winter was a one-off – it was the worst we’d had for 30 years – but this is looking a lot worse.”
Sub-zero temperatures eased slightly yesterday – but forecasters warned the big chill was far from over, with the mercury due to plunge again tomorrow when freezing rain is set to bring fresh chaos.
Positive Weather Solutions forecaster Jonathan Powell said: “We’re looking at nightmare conditions. For much of Britain the threat of snow has passed but ice is the unseen killer.
“Temperatures will remain below freezing so any snow that melts will turn into ice and we would expect some rainfall, which will mean more ice forming.
“Most of Britain will effectively turn into a big ice rink. It’s going to mean very dangerous conditions on the roads.
“Without low pressure bringing milder air we are going to be stuck with this very cold weather for weeks.”
Temperatures plummeted as low as -18.1C in Redesdale Camp, Northumberland, yesterday, but the mercury briefly crept above zero for the first time in days in some areas.
The bitterly cold snap has hit fuel and food supplies and decimated weekend sports. But Downing Street insisted yesterday there were no major concerns over supplies of food, petrol, diesel or gas.
And shoppers were continuing to panic buy with delivery trucks struggling to get through.
Sainsbury’s said: “In Scotland and the South East, where conditions are particularly difficult, we are working closely with our meat and bread suppliers to get deliveries through, and brought in extra stocks of long life UHT milk.”
Tesco said sales of thermal underwear shot up 62 per cent compared with a week ago while demand for porridge is up 41 per cent.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond yesterday announced a four-day suspension of EU rules to allow truckers to work longer to get food and fuel through.
Drivers can work up to 10 hours a day instead of the nine-hour EU maximum.
And they will only have to rest nine hours instead of the usual 11. Petrol chiefs said up to 500 garages could run out of fuel by tomorrow.
Royal Mail has taken on extra staff for the busiest online shopping weekend after two million homes received no mail at all on Friday.
Meanwhile, doctors fear schoolgirl Samantha Kinghorn, 14, may be left paralysed after being crushed by snow falling off her roof as she cleared a path, near Gordon, Berwickshire.
And two men aged 30 and 56 were killed and the M62 closed for 11 hours after a lorry hit a truck on the hard shoulder near Goole, East Yorks, on Friday. An HGV driver, 36, from Manchester has been held on suspicion of dangerous driving.
Deep snow could also leave families without Christmas trees. Roger Hay, of the British Christmas Tree Growers Association said: “The biggest problem is being able to cut the trees and haul them away. There are shortages already.”
Source; http://www.mirror.co.uk/latest-news/new ... -22762282/
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