The owner of a pub and zoo says he will "fight to the dying end" to keep his business going after being struck by severe flooding.

Andy Cowell described watching the flood waters rise inside and around the Fen Bell Inn and Conservation Project at Hoo earlier this month as "soul destroying".

But while he is facing a worrying financial future he still remains positive, with hopes buoyed by the public support that's already helped the Fenn Bell survive during the coronavirus pandemic.

Looking back at the flooding on Thursday, January 14, he said it had been a bleak day.

"It was quite horrendous," he said. "We weren't expecting that. We've had previous flooding to a point where we could manage it, but not even the fire brigade could help.

"They were pumping so much water it was creating problems elsewhere. We came to a point after three hours the water level was still going up outside the pub, so we came to a conclusion there wasn't anything they could do.

"We had to allow the pub to flood. You watch these things on TV - you've fought the water for six years but when you get to a point where you can't stop it any longer you have to step back and watch it come up through the walls and the floor.

"It's very soul destroying. Everything you've made and worked for you could start to see floating around and damaged in front of your eyes."

Now he says he is looking to rebuild for the future, with hopes pinned first on the council's efforts to clear nearby ditches.

After that he has long-term plans to buy the pub from owner Shepherd Neame and move it to higher ground.

"We've been lucky - the weather's turned and we haven't had rain for the last week," he said. "But we're still pumping water from under the floor.

"The council are out working on the ditches opposite, which is where we've had the problem. All the rain water goes into those ditches but maintenance on the ditches hasn't been done. Now Medway has decided they're going ahead and carrying out the work. I'm hoping this will be the start of us not having floods on a regular basis.

"We're drying out now. We've got heaters and dehumidifiers, but what we're going to have to do is determine where we go from here. Leaving is not an issue - I'll be dragged out of this place in a coffin if I have to leave. I will fight to the dying end."

Although the council's efforts to improve the ditches will hopefully make some impact, Andy explained the main problem was that the pub sits on the original land level on which it was built in 1700, while the surrounding roads and industrial estate have been built up more than a foot higher.

But any hopes of moving the pub any time soon went with the pandemic, as the bank is now unwilling to provide a loan to help finance the project.

"It could be a situation where we could be two or three years away from proving our finances," said Andy. "We're possibly years away from being able to sort things out that could have been done this year.

"We've had rateable grants but we've had no support as a zoo. We rely on GoFundMe pages - we've raised £65,000 from GoFundMe pages. That's almost three times what the government have given us in rateable grants.

"Without that money we may not have been here. It's down to that public support that has kept us going and will hopefully see us through.

"But how long will this go on for? The most frustrating thing is we do not run a bankrupt business. We run a business that works with a lot of conservation projects and schools.

"We've got a good reputation and it's growing year on year. The only reason we're in this situation is we've spent seven months locked down and when we have opened we've made a quarter of what we should have.

"We believed we would take £1.2million this year but we've taken £350,000, and £100,000 has been from grants and GoFundMe pages. That's a hell of a loss.

"It's the same everywhere but we are very different from other pubs. Other pubs can just shut everything down. We are still paying for electric, gas, water, food, insurance, and everything else to keep the park alive."

Visit the Fenn Bell Conservation Project Facebook page or website and follow the relevant links to donate.

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