Leeds cafe 'absolutely devastated' after Storm Boelo wrecks havoc

A Leeds cafe has said it is ‘absolutely devastated’ after it was forced to close after its polytunnel was damaged by Storm Boelo.

Little Leaf Cafe, in Calverley, was due to hold its “biggest and busiest” craft market of the year today (Oct 25) but has been forced to cancel it due to the high winds.

Storm Boelo has battered Yorkshire with strong winds over the weekend, causing various events and attractions to be cancelled or close.

The storm has ripped a section of the roof off the cafe’s polytunnel, which the business said left with them with no choice but to close and cancel the market. It hopes it will be able to hold the market next weekend instead.

In a statement posted on Facebook, it said: “We’re absolutely heartbroken.

“This has come as a huge blow to our business, both emotionally and financially, and the impact of having to close on what should have been one of our busiest days of the year is going to be significant.

“We know so many of our wonderful stallholders have spent time preparing for today, and so many of you were planning to come along and support our local businesses. We’re incredibly sorry to everyone affected.

“Our priority now is to make everything safe and assess the damage.

“We’re keeping everything crossed that we can rearrange the craft market for next Sunday and give everyone the day we had planned. We’ll keep you updated as soon as we know more.

“Thank you, as always, for your continued support, kindness and understanding. Small independent businesses really do rely on days like today, and we hope you’ll continue to support us while we try to pick ourselves up and get back on our feet.”