A well-known York business has been closed for more than two weeks after the worst floods its owner can recall.

Ruth Richards last opened her business Tea By The Lock at Naburn on the Saturday before Christmas and is busily cleaning it, hoping to re-open on Wednesday.

Ruth told the Press: “You won’t get through with wellies. The water is still a couple of feet deep across the entire car park.”

“I’m still cleaning up. It’s left quite a mess. It’s pretty miserable,” said the owner of the business, noted for its cakes and plant-based food.

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The floods, which were at their worst last week when a six foot pole was almost buried by floodwaters, have cost Ruth at least nine days of trading.

She says while the venue at Naburn Lock has been affected by flooding several times in the past year, this is the worst and longest period of closure in the three years since she opened the tea rooms.

The floodwaters have entered the historic building, causing some damage.

“It does get to you. There’s been a few tears. But if this is the worst that can happen to me, I will take it.”

Ruth hopes to re-open Wednesday, but each flood is different, she says.

Today, she explained the floodwaters are too deep for the car park to be used and too shallow to bring people in by boat, which the café  did before Christmas.

“I am cleaning up today and tomorrow. Touch wood, I can open on Wednesday. But the mud has made it slippy outside. It’s terrible. The lock keeper is also cleaning up. I have had my wheelie bins retrieved from the car park.”

Ruth added: “There’s debris everywhere. It really does look a mess. I have my work cut out over the next few days.”

While the floodwaters are receding from their peaks, City of York Council says this is allowing its teams to undertake a clean-up in the city centre close to the river and other affected areas.

Skeldergate, Naburn Main Street and Poppleton are now open to traffic, the council website said this afternoon. But Rowntree Park, and its play area and car park remain temporarily closed. St George’s Field and the Esplanade car parks re-opened at the weekend.

With the weather set to be dry but cold for a week, with potential wintry showers next week, the worst is over for now, but a change in the weather has brought the risk of hazardous frost and ice.

Therefore, City of York Council’s gritters made their first out of 2024 on key routes on Sunday night. The council says its fleet of gritters and mini-tractors are responsible for gritting around 360 miles of roads, footpath and cycle paths, which are gritted between November and April “to keep the roads safe, when there’s a threat of snow, ice and frost.”