A landlord has spoken of the devastation at his Hythe pub after severe flooding meant fire crews had to ferry guests to safety.

Firefighters and police were called to The Fountain pub in Seabrook Road, last night at about 9pm after heavy rainfall resulted in waist deep flooding in some areas of both Horn Street and Seabrook Road.

About a dozen guests at the pub had to be ferried to safety by the Water Safety Unit from Folkestone fire station using an inflatable boat.

Firefighters dealt with the flooding, which was result of several blocked drains in the road, by using two pumping appliances to suck the water up, which they then deposited in the Royal Military Canal.

Folkestone watch manager Mick Dennis, from Folkestone, said: "It wasn't the level of water that was the problem, it was the speed of which the water was moving. It was flowing very quickly, and at the depth you can't see what is being carried along under the water. This can be very dangerous. Our Water Safety Unit was on hand to keep the crew safe and to ferry people to safety."

Crews from both Ashford and Hythe were also on standby.

The basement of the pub and the ground floor were both severely damaged as a result of the flooding.

Landlord Clinton Parker said: "Water is still flowing past the pub. We have no electricity and some stock has been ruined. At 5.30pm last night it was fine, by 6pm is was flooded.

"It was becoming too dangerous to drive along because cars were loosing control. It is a nightmare, and this is the worse weekend for it to happen, when we were fully booked for Mother's Day. It's devastating really."

Seabrook Road and Horn Street were still closed on Saturday morning while the Environmental Agency worked to make the road safe.