AN AWARD-WINNING Timothy Taylor pub swamped by floods during the Boxing Day deluge has reopened with the claim of being the district’s 'cleanest' watering hole.

And members of Harden Cricket Club have been praised for their help getting the hostelry back on its feet.

The Brown Cow at Ireland Bridge in Bingley was left under five feet of filthy water after the River Aire burst its banks.

But four months of non-stop cleaning and repairs by landlords Matt and Jo Hogg, and a team of workmen, family and friends, saw it back in business last Thursday night.

The pub was booming following an £80,000 refit in the autumn, and the restoration work since the floods is priced at some £150,000, said Mrs Hogg.

“It has to be the cleanest pub in the district – absolutely everything has been washed and washed or replaced,” she added.

“We had a production line going in the car park just for the crockery, with everything jet-washed, disinfected, sanitised and only then going into dishwashers.

“All the fixtures, cubicles and shelving in the toilets has been replaced and the wooden floor came up and has been relaid with areas of new stone flags.”

Mr Hogg said they had filled 14 waste skips with wrecked furniture and furnishings, which alone had cost £3,200 in hire fees.

His wife said one blessing in disguise is the pub, well-known for its food, now has a fresh, gleaming kitchen.

She added: “If it hadn’t been for the flood that wouldn’t have happened, so now we’ve got a brilliant new kitchen with a much better layout for chefs and staff.

“And we’ve also got a new cellar – every scrap of equipment down there had to be thrown away.

“At times I’ve been uptight about things, but that’s just because we so wanted to get everything right – and it is.

“Sometimes it feels surreal and as if the flood was only last week, and I wonder if I could have saved more stuff. But then our only concern was getting our three children and two dogs to safety.

“Our family, friends and everyone in Bingley, and especially Matt’s teammates at Harden Cricket Club, have been so supportive, with lots of people helping out of the goodness of their hearts. We are so grateful to them all."

A spokesman for Keighley brewery Timothy Taylor said: "We really appreciate the positivity and resourcefulness shown by Jo and Matt during this difficult time.

"After such a successful trading period following the refurbishment in autumn 2015, it was heart-breaking when the Boxing Day floods destroyed all that hard work.

“The community support has been amazing, and we wish Jo and Matt well."