Holidaymakers who settled in at a Devon holiday park hoping to enjoy a pint at its cosy bar were in for a shock after Storm Nelson made landfall and tore its roof off.
Challaborough Bay Holiday Park has been forced to close temporarily after the roof of the Waterfront Bar was torn open in a manner reminiscent of a sardine tin.
While nobody has been hurt, park bosses have taken the decision to close the facility off to new arrivals while repairs are made.
Elsewhere, other campsites have had to turn guests away due to the torrential downpours brought on by the storm which have saturated camping grounds, while high winds have toppled beach huts along the coast.
Storm Nelson hit Britain yesterday and caused widespread disruption with flooding to roads and railways and delays to ferries that have continued into Good Friday as holidaymakers head for Dover for long weekend escapes.
Challaborough Bay Holiday Park owner Parkdean Resorts said the Waterfront Bar ‘sustained damage’ from the wind, causing a ‘safety risk to owners’ of holiday homes.
Images showed the metal canopy of the building folded up and over on itself, exposing insulation inside the roof space.
A text sent to owners of holiday homes in the park, shared on social media, read: ‘As a result of adverse weather, the roof of the Waterfront Bar is severely damaged and poses a safety risk to owners.
‘We ask that you remain where you are on park, whether that be in your holiday home or another building, until further notice. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.’
A spokesperson for Challaborough Bay Holiday Park told the BBC: ‘Nobody has been hurt. However, the safety of everybody on our parks is our number one priority, and we have taken the decision to temporarily close the park to all new arrivals.
‘We are contacting all guests to apologise for the inconvenience and to discuss their alternatives, including refunds or moving to one of our other parks.’
Locals have suggested the facility may be closed for several weeks while repairs are carried out.
Further east on the Devon coast at Seaton Beach, huts have been blown from their standings into the pebbles, with some losing their structural integrity in the process.
Images shared on social media by the Beer Coastguard Rescue team showed splayed panels of wood and doors, scattered belongings and huts partially ditched in the small rocks.
‘Seaton beach this morning after last night’s high tide and storm,’ the Coastguard team said.
‘Beer and Lyme coastguards were tasked to attend last night as some people were putting themselves at risk of injury by trying to get to their beach huts as seas were breaking over them.’
Deluges across parts of Britain on the eve of the Easter break have spelt trouble the nation’s camping grounds.
The owners of Looe Country Park in Cornwall told BBC south-west news programme Spotlight they had been forced to close parts of their site due to saturated ground.
Campsite boss Jill Spicer said bookings were down 12 per cent on last Easter, adding: ‘Four seasons in a day. An hour ago I was walking around in the sunshine and now we’re standing here in the wind and the rain.’
Co-owner Rob Hamblett added: ‘Normally at Easter we’d have the whole campsite open but it’s just been so wet this year we’ve had to shut down half the site.’
And at Newgale Campsite in Pembrokeshire, almost three quarters of the land that would be a sea of tents has been left unusable until the water drains off.
In a heartbreaking post on Facebook, the campsite bosses said Easter celebration plans had been partially suspended, with guests contacted and stays rearranged.
‘The exceptional amount of rainfall has unfortunately taken its toll on the campsite for the Easter Weekend,’ the post read.
‘Around 70 per cent of the grassed area is completely saturated and unsuitable for pitching touring caravans and motorhomes.
‘The kid’s colouring competition and Easter egg hunt will still go ahead as planned. Unfortunately, the live music and craft stalls will be postponed until the Early May Bank Holiday.’
Good Friday is set to be a day of sunshine and blustery scattered showers, coming after unsettled conditions which have seen hailstones hit parts of Cornwall.
Elsewhere, in any sunshine it could feel warm, with highs of 14C expected in the south east of England but there is the risk of the odd thunderstorm, the Met Office said last night.
The driest weather is expected in the far north-east of the UK and there could be a windy start to the day in many regions.
Deputy chief meteorologist Dan Harris said: ‘The weather is expected to gradually improve following the widely unsettled spell of the past few days, with a fairly typical mix of spring-like weather across the UK.
‘There will be some sunshine, and it will feel increasingly warm for most as the winds become lighter.
‘However, the west and especially south west is likely to see passing showers too, which could be quite heavy and frequent at times.
‘Eastern coastal districts are also likely to feel increasingly cold as an onshore breeze develops, threatening persistent low cloud in some areas too.’
It’s an improvement to the highly changeable conditions across the country on Thursday, which saw regions hit with rain, gale force winds, hailstones and even snow across the day as Storm Nelson hit.
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Jon Brady
