Flood damage caused to Munchies Sandwich Shop, in Brandon near Thetford, set to close the business for the rest of the week

A couple who own a Suffolk sandwich shop have spoken of their ‘heartbreak’ at having to close for the rest of this week after a burst water pipe created havoc.

Owners of Munchies Sandwich Shop, Scott Smith and his partner Mandy Jones, were called by a friend who had seen the huge leak burst through the pavement outside the Wimbledon Avenue site, in Brandon near Thetford, at around 5.30am on Monday.

When they arrived at the shop and though another friend had put sandbags down to try to stop the water seeping in, they could see the damage had already been done.

Scott said: “I managed to gain entry but the electrics had tripped due to the water and this has put our fridges permanently out of action and they will need replacing.

“Anglian Water arrived and started working straight away digging up outside, but this left us unable to get back into the shop to sort out the damage – we finally managed to get back in on Wednesday to turn on our heaters to try dry out our newly laid laminate flooring, which we hope has not been affected.”

The pair put on the shop’s Facebook page yesterday that due to the clean up operation needed and the hunt for temporary fridges, they will not be open again until Monday.

The post said: “As hard as this is to say but we are going to be shut for the rest of the week, Anglian water have only just finished work on the pipe and tidying everything up.

“There’s a lot to still sort in the short term to be able to make it workable for us and safe. We are so sorry if this has caused any inconvenience to you as we value all our customers and love seeing everyone each day enjoy our food and service.

“It’s heart-breaking but it was totally out of our hands and cannot be helped, so we now have to pick ourselves up and move forward with a smile.”

Scott said it had been a very hard week for the pair.

He added: “It has been horrible and stressful for us due to loss of earnings and now having to replace the machines which are not going to cheap.

“Everyone, from the staff and the customers who have sent us lovely messages of support, have been brilliant and we are aiming to reopen on Monday with some temporary equipment until we can get some new stuff.”