A HUGELY popular waterside pub in Northwich is set to reopen following a near million pound renovation after it was hit by floods in January.

The Riverside Inn in Acton Bridge was under more than a metre of water when the normally tranquil River Weaver burst its banks after the heavy rains brought by Storm Christoph.

But following significant investment by brewery owner Marston's to the tune of £850,000, the pub has been completely transformed with General Manager Kelly Martin excited to be welcoming back her much missed customers.

She said: "We can't wait, I'm so excited to be able to open again.

"The pub has been completely modernised from top the bottom.

"They've (Marston's) gone for a completely new style, so it's all very modern and country inside now and more up market.

"It's absolutely stunning."

Recalling the fateful day back in January when the pub was flooded, Kelly said how she was alerted to the news by her sister Zoe, who is the head chef at the pub and also lives in the flat above with her two daughters, Emmy and Mia.

"I had been there the night before and some of the local residents asked me if they could move their cars to the carpark," Kelly said.

"Some of them have lived in those houses for years and apparently it hasn't flooded here that bad since 1941, so we just put sandbags up against the pub doors.

"My sister Facetimed me at about five in the morning and you could just about see the windows of her car that was parked around the front.

"All the empty barrels had got out from the backyard and were just bobbing passed the cars.

"It was a metre and a half deep inside the pub.

"It wiped the whole pub out."

The next day, the flood waters retreated back to the river but what was left was a pub filled with silt, mud and sludge, with Kelly saying how she will never forget the smell.

Having run the pub for the last eight years and been in the business her whole working life, 40-year-old Kelly said she was proud that Marston's had shown such faith in her and the pub to spend so much money on transforming it.

"It's amazing what they've done, especially when you think of how the last year has been for pubs," she added.

"It's a really nice compliment to me and my staff."

As well as the financial investment made the brewery, Kelly is also giving something back to the local community, by creating 25 new jobs to be able to handle the expected surge in demand when the doors re-open.

She said: "I was able to keep 42 of my staff, which I know I'm lucky to have done as the rest of the industry hasn't been so fortunate.

"Of the new 25 staff members, 22 of them are aged between the age of 16-18, which is great.

"The young ones have really been hit hard by the pandemic and missed out on so much.

"So I've purposely gone for younger people as they deserve the chance and they'll be able to grow here."

With a children's cinema room replacing the old play area, the pub is likely to prove to be a big hit with families when it re-opens at 12 noon on May 17.

When the doors re-open, Kelly is also planning to hand over a cheque of more than £1300 to her flood hit neighbours, that was raised through a Just Giving campaign.

They still aren't back in their homes, almost four months later.