East Sussex pub offers 40 people refuge amid snowstorm

A pub in East Sussex offered overnight accommodation for 40 people who had been stranded by heavy snowfall.

Pauline Wilson, landlady at the Bear Inn near Burwash, welcomed families and couples who were unable to get home safely between 5pm and 9.30pm on 11 December.

She told The Caterer: "People had obviously discovered that we have rooms, so they kind of made their way to us whether it was [by] walking or local farmers dropping them off in tractors. A local PCSO also directed some our way."

The eight bedrooms quickly filled up and one room was shared by three women who had never met.

This did not stop Wilson from taking on more guests who were struggling in the snow. People slept on cushions, mattresses and bedding placed on the pub floor.

Those staying at the pub included a family of four, a six-month-old baby and a four-year-old child, as well as a young couple who "hiked" to the inn after having to abandon their car following a car accident.

A group of people from a different local pub were driven to the Bear Inn by a farmer.

During Wilson's three and a half years at the inn, she said she had never "had an issue like this" before.

She added: "Everyone was very grateful. People just slept everywhere, really. We did lots of teas and coffees and hot chocolates, gave everyone as many pillows and duvets as we could, and just dimmed the lights and looked out for everybody."

The Met Office said warnings for snow and ice would continue until the end of the week when milder and wetter weather may come in from the Atlantic.