UK snow: 7 stuck in pub keeping their spirits high by eating, drinking

LONDON - Seven people have been stuck inside a pub for the past nine days after the building was engulfed by 16ft snow drifts.

The five staff and two local residents have been in the ultimate lock-in at The Lion Inn in Blakey Ridge, North Yorkshire.

They have been cut off since last Friday when heavy snow blocked the windows and doors of the isolated Lion and made surrounding roads too treacherous for any vehicles to pass.

The snow was so deep that vehicles in the car park were completely buried.

But despite their ordeal, the spirits of those trapped have remained high. They have kept themselves busy - eating, drinking and playing games - in a huge bar that normally serves 150 customers a night.

“It was really novel at first and quite exciting,” the Daily Mail quoted waitress Katie Underwood, as saying.

“The snow is immense. Most of the windows in here are blocked up, but we’ve got a door open at the back to get some air when we need to.

“It’s been freezing, but we’ve been lucky that it’s a pub and B&B we’re trapped in.

“We’ve got plenty of coal for our fire, which has been great, and there are rooms upstairs so we have somewhere to sleep, and plenty of food,” she said.

Katie, who has worked at the pub for four years, has been stuck with colleagues Rob Sinley, Joe Bell, Stuart Dowson, and Danny Butterworth, along with the two local residents.

Katie added, “We never imagined it would be for this long. We’ve been having a lot of fun - most nights we’ve been playing Monopoly or another board game, as well as keeping a beverage close by for warmth!” (ANI)